If Turkey wants to fly, it needs to work on strengthening its wings, the World Bank’s Turkey chief economist has said, referring to ongoing discussions between the heads of the Turkish government and the Central Bank over what Turkey’s growth speed should be, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

“Turkey needs to do some work in order to reinforce its wings for the plane to fly fast,” Chief Economist Marina Wes has said, backing the Turkish Central Bank’s balancing policies.

In late January, Central Bank Governor Erdem Basçı stated the economy had “disembarked from a plane and was travelling on the highway” following a soft landing last year. 

“Turkey won’t reach its 2023 goals through the highway, we need to fly,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said in a response critical of Başçı. The minister was backed by Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan in several statements. 

Both Çağlayan and Erdoğan, whose government has built its reputation on strong economic growth over the past decade, have picked up on Basçı‘s analogy in recent weeks and implied the government should get the final say in the issue as the governor is “only an officer of the state in the end.” 

“The Turkish Central Bank is legally independent and we don’t recommend this be changed,” Wes also said, clearly touching upon the independency issue.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News