UPDATE - 'Turkiye Sigorta to push insurance sector over top'

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS OF TURKISH PRESIDENT; ADDS PANDEMIC BACKGROUND

By Gokhan Ergocun and Sena Guler

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (AA) - Turkiye Sigorta, which gathered six state-run insurance companies under a single roof, will push the Turkish insurance sector over the top in the global competition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday.

The newly established firm will reduce costs and raise productivity, Erdogan stressed during the introductory meeting in the capital Ankara.

Turkiye Sigorta will be a strong market actor in its region and global competition, he underlined.

Turkiye Sigorta, established by Turkey's Wealth Fund, gathered Gunes Sigorta, Halk Sigorta, Ziraat Sigorta, Vakif Emeklilik ve Hayat, Halk Hayat ve Emeklilik and Ziraat Hayat ve Emeklilik under its roof.

Turkiye Sigorta will give services for 15 million customers with its 2,620 staff, Erdogan noted.

He also said that throughout history, those who could not beat Turkey in diplomacy, defense, and military fields have always used the economy as a weapon.

Touching on the pandemic's global economic effects, the president said even major economies -- such as the US, Germany, Japan, and the UK -- saw serious losses this year.

In the second quarter of 2020, Japanese, German, French and the UK economies narrowed by 10%, 11.7%, 19%, and 21.7%, respectively, while Turkey posted negative 9.9% GDP growth rate, Erdogan recalled.

"With our Economic Stability Shield Package, we protected our citizens, tradesmen, and companies against the negative effects of the pandemic," he noted, adding: "It is a fact that we are negatively affected by this process, especially in the services and tourism sectors, however, compared to other countries, we managed to keep this effect at the minimum level."

- Virus situation in Turkey

Referring to the rising number of coronavirus cases in Turkey, Erdogan called on people to stay away from crowded ceremonies that caused the recent rise in numbers.

“Let’s overcome this period by ending wedding and such ceremonies,” Erdogan said, adding that people should neither fully isolate themselves nor act like nothing happened during the pandemic.

“Our country will come out of this pandemic period stronger in other areas together with economy,” he said, urging the Turkish nation to adopt measures against the spread of COVID-19.

Turkey’s health minister Sunday announced more than 1,000 new recoveries from COVID-19, bringing the total to 251,105.

The country has so far reported nearly 280,000 cases. The death toll rose to 6,673 as 53 more people succumbed to the disease over the past day.