Erdogan: "The 2009 budget will turn the economic crisis into an opportunity"

Dunya - Addressing to Parliament during debates over the 2009 budget, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the budget will be an important tool for Türkiye to turn the global crisis into an opportunity. Touching on the government's efforts to counter the crisis, the premier said the government has acted very cautiously since the initial signs of the crisis occurred and has taken all necessary measures to protect Türkiye's people and economy. Those measures include, he said, interest-free loans to small and medium-sized companies, installment payment of tax debts, financial support for employers to retain and add workers (in particular young people and women), more resources for large-scale regional development projects such as the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), higher state guarantee on bank deposits, and other measures to maintain liquidity flow in domestic financial markets through Central Bank intervention.