Berat Albayrak

The worth of Turkey's Economic Stability Shield package launched to curb economic fallout from coronavirus has hit 240 billion Turkish liras ($35 billion) so far, the treasury and finance minister said on May 13. 

Turkey is conducting talks to establish swap lines with members of G20, with more than one swap line possible, said the country's treasury and finance minister.

"We are doing one-to-one swap negotiations with G20 countries with which we have a trade deficit and a free trade agreement," Berat Albayrak said in a closed-door online meeting with international investors.

Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has ensured international investors that Turkey's reserves are sufficient and Ankara has been holding swap line talks with other countries.

The Turkish Central Bank's reserves are adequate to meet short-term needs, the treasury and finance minister has said, highlighting that its gross reserves stood at $53 billion as of April 24.

"Our country has kept its current account balance [stable] and it is not in financial need from any channel," Berat Albayrak told daily Sabah on May 4.

More than 450,000 people applied to the Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry's project to train software developers, according to a statement by the Finance Minister Berat Albayrak on April 30.
"The youth has shown a great favor in our '1 Million Software Developers' project. The number of applicants reached 451,000 in a week time," he said on his Twitter account.

Turkey on April 29 set up a digital ecosystem for the agriculture sector to establish a direct link between the cultivator and the consumer.

Turkey provided interest-free six-month postponement for farmers' loans amid the coronavirus pandemic, the treasury and finance minister announced on April 28. 

"Thus, we offer our farmers the opportunity to postpone approximately 6 billion Turkish liras ($858.1 million) debt," Berat Albayrak said on Twitter.

The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) on April 27 unveiled a loan package of 6 billion Turkish Liras ($858.6 million) for its members to help them overcome the financial hardships caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The Turkish government's steps to support the economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic have reached a value of 200 billion Turkish Liras ($28.7 billion), Finance Minister Berat Albayrak has said.

"The total value of the steps we have taken so far has reached 200 billion lira," Albayrak said in a video posted on his Twitter account on April 25.

Turkey has kick-started a campaign to train at least 1 million software developers in a project assisted with online courses.