Erdogan Vows to Stick With Free Market Economy After Overhaul

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he won’t abandon free market principles but lashed out against “the shackles” of interest rates in his first economy speech since replacing his son-in-law as the nation’s treasury and finance minister and firing the central bank chief.

“We are working at full power by not giving up on free-market economy rules, the dedication to growth led by the private sector and by not forgetting the reality that money doesn’t have a nationality or borders,” Erdogan said in a speech in the capital Ankara on Tuesday. “We are putting up a historic fight against those who want to condemn Turkey to modern capitulations through the shackles of interest rates, inflation and exchange rates.”

The statement came as former Deputy Prime Minister Lutfi Elvan prepared to take over as treasury and finance minister following the abrupt resignation of Erdogan’s son-in-law Berat Albayrak on Sunday. On Saturday, Erdogan fired central bank Governor Murat Uysal and replaced him with Naci Agbal, a former finance minister.

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