UPDATE - 'Turkey's banner 2017 growth puts it front of the pack'

ADDS REMARKS OF DEVELOPMENT MINISTER LUTFI ELVAN

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish economy’s banner annual growth of 7.4 percent in 2017 propelled it to the ranks of countries worldwide with the strongest growth, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

Simsek's remarks came after the announcement by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) that the economy grew 7.4 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year.

"Thus, Turkey's economy in 2017 ranks among the countries that show the strongest growth performance among the OECD, EU and G20," Simsek said in a statement.

Simsek said Turkey's GDP at current values rose to 3.1 trillion Turkish liras (nearly $850.7 billion) in 2017.

He added that incentives for investment, production, employment, and exports, and policies to support the economy since the last quarter of 2016 were key to this high growth performance.

"With our high growth performance in 2017, we also reached our goal of a strong rise in employment," he said.

Simsek said Turkey's economy had covered a "significant" distance with reforms that were "resolutely" implemented over the last five years.

Also hailing the good news, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said Turkey’s growth in 2017 put it first among G20 economies.

"At last we took the lead, even leaving China behind in the G20, and we were not surprised," Zeybekci said in a statement.

Zeybekci said that in 2017 all Turkey's sectors grew and exports climbed 10.2 percent.

"The leading indicators show that we will achieve significant growth in 2018 as well," he added.

Also, Development Minister Lutfi Elvan said that with 7.4 percent economic growth in 2017, Turkey’s economy hit its "best performance" since 2013.

"At this point, Turkey's economic growth reached the peak among G20 countries and number two among OECD countries," Elvan said in a statement.

He added that the country's economy will continue to grow in 2018, and inflation and the current account deficit will be brought down while Turkey continues structural reforms.

"Turkey's economy is strong. It will protect this power with its decisive economic administration, and dynamic and productive private sector," Elvan said.