Recent Developments in Turkey’s Economy

On April 11, the Center on the United States and Europe (CUSE) at Brookings welcomed Turkish Minister of State Mehmet Simsek for an address on the Turkish economy.

In the years since its 2001 crisis, Turkey’s economy has undergone a period of exemplary recovery and growth with its GDP rising an average of more than 7 percent from 2002 annually.  However, current insecurity in the world’s financial markets poses new challenges to Turkey’s economy and its position as a major emerging market.  How will Turkey weather the global economic downturn and the rise in political uncertainty at home?  What are the latest developments on Turkey’s path to European Union accession?  Minister Simsek addressed these and other issues in a discussion of Turkey’s economy in light of recent events.

Mehmet Simsek was elected to the Turkish Parliament in July 2007 and was appointed as the State Minister in Charge of the Economy in August of that year.  Prior to his career in politics, Mr. Simsek was the Chief of Merrill Lynch’s Middle East and Africa Economic/Strategic Research Department for seven years based in London.  He also served as Senior Economist and Bank Analyst for Deutsche-Bender Securities from 1998 to 2000.  In other previous positions, Mr. Simsek worked for UBS Securities in New York and as a Senior Economist at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.

Brookings Visiting Fellow and former Ambassador to Turkey Mark Parris provided introductory remarks and moderated the discussion. After the program, the Turkish minister of state took audience questions.