Turkey taking steps for green economy: Vice president

By Abdullah Yasin Güler

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is taking steps for green economy as part of its fight against the negative impact of climate change, the Turkish vice president said on Monday.

"We are taking environmentally friendly steps to minimize the devastating effects of climate change," Fuat Oktay told a meeting of Coordination Council for the Improvement of Investment Environment in Turkey (YOIKK), which was held in the capital Ankara.

"We are moving toward a green economy, and entering the era of green development. Our steps aim to increase long-term foreign investment," he said.

Oktay emphasized that global supply chains broke down during the coronavirus pandemic, but Turkey minimized its effects, thanks to its advantageous position in production and logistics.

"Despite negative climate in global economy, we ended 2020 in growth. Our 1.8% economic growth rate ranked second among G20 countries last year. We continued this acceleration in the first quarter with a 7.2% growth, and in the second quarter with 21.7%," he said.

Oktay's remarks come ahead of COP26, the UN conference on climate change scheduled from Oct. 31-Nov. 12 in Glasgow, Scotland.​​​​​​​