Turkey used to be called the ‘the sick man of Europe’ and suffered inflation rates as high as 80 per cent per annum.
WASHINGTON, US: This is with reference to Imtiaz Gul’s article “Why not the Turkey way?” (March 14). While I agree with the writer’s views that Pakistan should be following the Turkish model when it comes to the handling of religion by the state, I believe that we also have a lot to learn from that country on the economic front. Turkey used to be called the ‘the sick man of Europe’ and suffered inflation rates as high as 80 per cent per annum. But Turkey fought back and got itself out of trouble. It reformed its economy with some tough decisions, which set it on an upward trajectory. Turkey’s economic turnaround has indeed been remarkable even if we credit successive International Monetary Fund programmes for it. While economic growth in the country still remains volatile and inflation rears its ugly head now and then, Turkey’s economic managers are quick to make adjustments to bring the economy back on track.
Meekal Ahmed
Published in The Express Tribune, March 17th, 2012.
