Erdogan tells G-20 countries how Turkey weathered global crisis with minimal damage

At a press conference in Toronto, Canada following the G-20 summit there, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that during the summit he had shared with other countries Turkey's experience in cushioning the impact of the global economic crisis, as well as boosting long-term economic growth. The economic reforms that Turkey carried out during this period can be used by other countries working to overcome the crisis, Erdogan said. Comparing Turkey's performance in the face of the crisis to other countries facing budgetary woes, Erdogan said, "Turkey really managed this crisis well in terms of its budget deficit. Thanks to this good management, our budget deficit currently stands at 5.5 percent, the same as last year." This figure is projected to fall to 5 percent in the months to come, Erdogan added. Stating that Turkey has recently seen sharp falls in unemployment, Erdogan said the government hopes to bring unemployment down to 10 or 11 percent by year's-end. Touching on the economic reforms of recent years, Erdogan said, "In the last seven years we have realized many structural reforms which boosted Turkey's potential for growth." Erdogan said careful, well-planned measures Turkey took during the crisis had helped to blunt its impact. "During the summit, we had the opportunity to share our experiences either in containing the effects of the crisis or boosting economic growth in the long-term with other G-20 countries," he said. Another important topic of discussion at the summit stressed by Turkey, Erdogan said, was beginning to take all necessary steps in a consistent, cautious and reliable medium-term framework to alleviate concerns on the sustainability of public debt in developed countries. "During the summit, those countries took an important step by announcing some target figures, and we told about our anti-crisis measures in the medium-term plan for the Turkish economy," he said. "By telling them the main principles of our exit strategy from the crisis, we also told how we established confidence in the economy despite the crisis."