By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey gave no chance to those who wanted to create new financial fluctuations on the back of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s president said on Wednesday.
A large part of Central Bank reserves – a subject Turkey’s main opposition asks about “ceaselessly” – were used to protect Turkey from this manipulation, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party parliamentary group meeting.
"Thanks to this, we foiled the games of those who seek to sow social turmoil by raising [foreign exchange] rates and interests to very high levels," he added.
Erdogan last week said the Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves currently total $95 billion.
Over the last year, the US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rates hovered between 6 and 8.5, but dropped to 7.35 by the end of the year.
-Support in face of pandemic
On the COVID-pandemic, he said Turkey cushioned the impact on health and the economy thanks to effective and timely measures.
"While all economies, especially advanced countries, shrank last year, Turkey is among a few countries which managed to grow," he said.
Turkey provided support packages to all sectors of society, from exporters to industrialists and farmers, he said.
The country's support and incentives in this period reached around 311 billion Turkish liras ($43.3 billion), he added.
He also said despite the pandemic, Turkey last year managed to attract 16 million tourists.
This year, preliminary indicators signal positive developments, he stressed.
"With every step we take, we show our determination to bring down inflation and interest rates, and maintain exchange rate stability," he noted.
He also said that international investors' interest in Turkey is growing every day.