Gul: Turkey is rising crescent of Eurasia

President Abdullah Gul, on the second day of his official visit to Great Britain, addressed the Annual Conference 2011 of the Confederation of the British Industry in London yesterday. "In the past, we have seen many rising stars, suns and tigers in the world economy. Now, with its shining star Turkey is the rising crescent of Eurasia. On that note, I would like to invite you to explore vibrant business opportunities in Turkey to the mutual interests of our nations." Gul said. Noting the major financial upheaval in the second half of 2007 which pushed the world economy into crisis is widely considered as the worst downturn since the Great Depression, President Gul, stating that many industrialized countries entered into recession while growth rates of emerging economies began to fall, pointed to the positive steps taken by the G-20 toward making the economy stable. Gul further stressed Turkey's economic achievements and what contributions it can make to the stability of the world economy, saying that Turkey, as one of the most vibrant emerging economies has a lot to offer to the combined efforts to stabilize the global economy. Despite many global economic risks, he asserted, the Turkish economy rests on sound macro foundations. "Today, we have an economy with strong public finances, sustainable debt dynamics, a sound banking system, functional credit markets and able monetary transmission mechanisms," Gul said. On Turkish-British economic relations, Gul said Turkey and the UK enjoyed a privileged relationship based on strong bonds of alliance, partnership and mutual trust.