World Bank official praises Turkey’s GDP growth

World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde welcomed the positive growth of Turkey's economy during the pandemic in 2020 but also warned against outcomes of the inflation trend from which the whole world has been suffering.

"2020 was a very difficult year for the whole world. We saw the deepest recession globally in 80 years. Very few countries survived without negative growth. Turkey is one of the very few countries that had small positive growth in 2020, which is very welcomed, and quite surprising," she told Hürriyet Daily News in an interview after her discussions in Ankara with Turkish authorities.

2021 has been an incredible recovery period so far and Turkey has had a very strong first six months of this year, she said, noting that their projection for Turkey would end up probably over 8 percent growth in 2021.

The growth rebound in 2021 has been good in Turkey, as the region's is about 5 to 5.6 percent on average, she added.
But the World Bank is very cautious about their forecasts because it is difficult to forecast during a period of uncertainty, Bjerde said, pointing at the risks of evaluation of COVID-19.

Inflation, pandemic risk for Turkey

She said Turkey has a good vaccination rate for the pandemic but also drew attention to the fact that the country's trading partners have uncertainty because of the pandemic and this might negatively influence its growth ambitions.

"External demand is the main driver of growth in Turkey. If trading partners have difficulties because of COVID-19, not having a strong vaccination rate as Turkey, then the external demand may be impacted and the growth outlook in 2021 or 2022 may be impacted," the bank official said.

Bjerde warned...