Now go . How many more will grou be removed from their positions . P. M. Yildirim thank you for giving me this opportunity. I can say frankly turkey save itself from a very big problem. Unfortunately, there was a bloody armed coup attempt. It was overcome by the resistance of our nation and the stance of the government and president. Things have gone back to normal in our country. Those people who were the reason for this coup, nobody could expect them to get themselves out of the situation easily because we have 246 martyrs and thousands of wounded. We will hold them accountable for all they have done. When we investigate their actions, we will not move with feelings of vengeance. Instead with justice and airness because turkey is state of law and we will do whatever is expected for the state of law. How deep will it go . It will be up to the judiciary, not the government, to identify this. Most involved in the coup attempt have been handed over to justice. I dont think there is a high number of people left upcoming. Riad the president did raise the possibility the state of emergency might be extended beyond the current three months. What are the parameters that would determine whether this is required . P. M. Yildirim think of france. There was a terrorist attack. The first state of emergency was not sufficient. It was extended twice. The last for six months. We are not advocating an extension. Completedays we cannot investigations, we will eliminate the emergency rule. If we cant, we will not overlook the possibility to do it. The events in france and turkey cannot even be compared. There, there was a terrorist attack and people lost their lives. Here, there was an armed attempt to quash democracy and change the regime of the country. There was a serious attempt to end democracy in this country. Compared to france, we have more justified reasons to declare a state of emergency. I would like to specifically point out the state of emergency is based on the constitution. According to our constitution, there can be a declaration of state of emergency under four conditions. One is when there are severe Economic Conditions and you cannot meet these needs. Secondly, if there is a natural disaster. Thirdly, if there is any attempt to change the regime of the country against the legitimate government. Then you can declare a state of emergency. This is the provision of the constitution we are using to declare the emergency rule. We should point out the state of emergency is not for citizens. It is declared for the state. It is a state of emergency for the state and government. Why . Because we need to eliminate the consequences of this coup with the necessary legal processes, performs, and structural changes, and eliminate all conditions that might allow other coup attempts in the future. Riad when you speak of reforms you want to implement, it sounds like you want to speed up certain reforms during the state of emergency. Do you have any specific reforms and measures in mind . P. M. Yildirim yes, very naturally. The first decree has already been enacted. What does this include . First of all, there are many people that have been detained. We need more time to question these people. We increased the detention from four days to 30 days. On the other hand, there was another provision to designate people who lost their lives during the coup attempt as martyrs because it brings certain privileges for their next of kin. In addition to this, schools and hospitals owned by the terrorist organizations are now confiscated. We only confiscated the ownership. Their activities will not be interrupted but will instead be operated under the state supervision. Managerstitutions and directors will be taken to the courts. It was another provision of the same degree. Those people who have participated in a coup attempt, along with the members of the terrorist organization and members of the judiciary, another provision was meant to lay them off. There will be other measures that will follow this. What are these . First of all, there is a serious need to restructure the armed forces. We have seen during the coup attempt there is a security weakness. There are some problems in the chain of command. We will take relevant steps in terms of restructuring to eliminate these weaknesses. We need certain steps for further democratization. Furthermore, we have certain measures we need to take for the economy. But they will not be considered in the context of this state of emergency. They are going to be tackled in normal sessions of parliament. If you want, we can go into details of these measures. Riad you already said the measures you are taking will not fall under the state of emergency measures, that they will be undertaken under normal parliament reprocess. Parliamentary process. Of the cost of the coup and aftermath, has there been any estimation of what the cost to the turkish economy has been of the coup and the purges of many institutions following that coup . P. M. Yildirim the coup attempt had an economic effect on the turkish economy. S p medially decreased our rating. I think that was not an ethical standpoint it took advantage of the situation. We are a nation that has overcome a major coup attempt great we struggled to keep democracy running. Such agencies should not be rushing into the situation, should not be deciding immediately. We would have expected them to wait and then decide. This was something that was saddening to us. If you look at the indicators, the turkish economy did not deserve this. When you look at european countries, debt is considerably higher than our debt. When we look at that as a proportion of Gross National product, it is around 32 . This is at 116 in European Union and oecd countries it is 93 . Theres almost no country in European Union that has met this criteria. But since the 2009 Global Financial crisis, turkey has had a very smooth performance. The Banking Sector is very strong and the capital adequacy ratio is 15. 5 . This is almost double the 8 , to taking into account all these factors, what criteria do you have to cut turkeys rating . This is not based on scientific or economic criteria. This is an ideological and political decision. We have no doubt about that. Of course, we are identifying the damage to the turkish economy. There has been damaged. But i am saying this to give you an idea of the dimensions of the damage. When we had a crisis with the Russian Federation about the russian aircraft, there was some movement in our economic indicators. The movement in the coup attempt have been similar to that. It has not been a devastating effect on the turkish economy affecting all economic values. This was not such a change. There was a minor decrease in the stock exchange. There was a simple fluctuation of the exchange rate. In Interest Rates there has been some movement. But these are all temporary. I believe in the coming days they will go back to normal levels. Forecast, it was a strong First Quarter for the turkish economy. However, it was very much dependent on Consumer Spending and government spending. Private investment has not really been a great contributor to turkish Economic Growth in quite some time. Improvement in net Foreign Investment into turkey at the beginning before this coup attempt. Is it of concern to you that this might now lessen, therefore putting pressure on the turkish deficit the account that remains the thirdlargest in the g 20 nations . P. M. Yildirim first and foremost, we should make clear from january to july 15, the turkish economy was one of the five Major Economies that had the highest growth rate at 4. 8 . In the European Union, we are at the top. We are behind india and china, so growth has been good. The current deficit is narrowing. We have a Budget Surplus and no restrictions on investment. We have this at a time when global commercial activity is struggling and all around there is conflict and war. Despite all of this, the turkish economy has been very strong. Last year, employment rose by more than one million. Since the 2009 Global Financial crisis, we created more than 7 million jobs. All of this is going very well. We faced a could attempt we were not expecting. Of course, this will have negative ramifications. Foreign investors are possibly confused about security and safety in turkey and whether they should invest or not. We can pretend it never happened. It did. What we are saying to Global Investors is this has come and gone and the national will and the will of the citizens has destroyed the plot. Life is back to normal in turkey and you can continue your longterm investments and we will eliminate obstacles before you. We are laying out the turquoise carpet in front of investors. We have all kinds of tax incentives, investment incentives with a lot of thought behind them. We are giving priority to valueadded investments, taking into account all this we are planning measures that will encourage investors to make medium to longterm investments into the real economy instead of portfolio investments, shortterm bonds, stocks, etc. There are important measures being worked on. We have three packages that have been planned. The first package was debated in parliament and enacted. It reduced the cost of establishing a business and allows intellectual property to be used as collateral in addition to tangible assets. Those who invest in the Eastern Region will be exempted from some basic burdens such as Social Security contributions for five or 10 years. We will continue with largescale investments without putting our foot on the brake. Just before the religious holiday on june 30, we opened the bridge. On july 26, the third bridge will be inaugurated. 2018, weginning of will have the first terminal of the largest airport in europe which will be inaugurated december 20. We will have the inauguration of the eurasian tunnel. In 2016, we will lay the cornerstones for another bridge, the longest bridge in the world. Turkey will continue investing without slowing down. We overcame the 2009 crisis by increasing investments. The only problem we have is the savings level is not at the desired level. Savings are around 15 . We want to increase it to 20 . This is not something you can do overnight. What are we going to do . We are going to do largescale investments, produce more, increase our Gross National income, increase employment, all of which will lead to higher savings. Our fiscal deficit is at a level that makes it possible to increase investments which means stimulating the economy. Riad are you planning to increase investments . P. M. Yildirim definitely. Investment, production, exports. We want to increase all caps are of them. We do what we want to target the real economy. Riad you are willing to accept higher deficits in the budget for this year and next year than originally planned . P. M. Yildirim when we compare with other countries, our fiscal deficit is at a very comfortable level. We will use resources for investments that mean getting the economy moving. When you Bring Movement to the economy, it means growth. And of course, the quality of growth is important. It is not growth through consumption but growth with production. We believe investment is important. Investment is then turned into production. Production is turned into commerce. Commerce means increasing purchasing power, the national income. This is a plan which everybody can understand. Very simple. But of course, we will not be making any compromises on financial disciplines. The banks are going to keep their loan provision criteria. Our banks will shift to a mentality of loans directed toward Economic Growth without to be generating on their lending criteria capitulating on their lending criteria. If necessary, preferential rates will be applied to Priority Areas and the difference will be paid for by the state longterm guaranty fund. In terms of baking, turkey is much more advanced in many other countries. Just yesterday, there was a could attempt in following the two there were such warnings. It just yesterday, the bank made a request to increase capital. Sector can private get credit from all over the world. After the coup attempt, a Turkish Company got credit of 230 million turkish lira to issue bonds and 40 was purchased by foreigners. Before, the term was three years and this was four years. Why . Because there was demand for the 500 million. Another company just got a loan from the European Bank for reconstruction and development for 50 million euros. This shows the trust felt towards the turkish economy is still there. Any doubts that some are trying to create over the turkish economy we dont believe they are stemming from goodwill. Manipulations of this kind cannot disrupt the turkish economy. They are not that powerful because there is a great nation that stands behind this country and we saw in this coup attempt. Riad you mentioned the government would increase investments in productive sectors rather than investment on social spending, but more on the investment side. That would mean it would reinforce in the way of growth that the economy has sinned scene which has been dependent on government spending. Are you planning measures beyond what you mentioned to encourage private investment rather than Foreign Investment in bonds and stocks but also maybe direct Foreign Investment into the turkish economy . Are thereelaxing plans to relax labor laws, for example . P. M. Yildirim in terms of flexibility in labor law, we have already brought this flexibility. The International Labor force bill is in parliament. The research and patent law are also in the cleaner he of the Parliament Plenary of the parliament. A reform package will be debated in parliament and there are measures encouraging private retirement mechanisms. We are establishing a fund for asset management. We are going to finance investments through this fund instead of the general budget so we will opt for this rather than relying on our general budget so our budget balances will not have any problem. The turkishn in private sector is different from that of other economies in the region. The turkish private sector is a global after. We have European Partners big we have partners from the far east. The turkish private sector is a global actor. We had European Partners. We have partners from the far east big that means we are an economy open to the world. The private sector can meet its own needs. This is something very important. They dont need us. They carry out their negotiations. They have their own warranties and safeguards. They get their own loans. So the turkish economy, the private sector, is even more liberal than the state. So we have no problems with regards to that area. They are able to meet all of their needs for future investment and meet the requirements for loans. What will happen if they have any form of difficulty . Then we will be beside them. We have a Loan Guarantee fund which will be involved in that situation. There will be restructuring and business will run structure smoothly as before. They will continue to fulfill their commitments, pay their debts, and continue to work and create investments. We see the economy like this. We are aiming to make it thrive, not to kill it. Riad so youre not planning any emergency measures in the next few months . You have setasures are already in parliament . P. M. Yildirim in terms of the economy, no. In terms of economy, there was already a package of promises before the coup attempt. The first part of the package has been enacted. The second part is being negotiated in parliament. The third part is going to be brought to parliament. While we are enacting all of these, we will not need any additional actions to be taken regarding the economy. Parliament is continuing normal sessions and these measures are going to be passed through parliament. On the other hand because we have the power of the state of emergency for security and stability of the country, we are taking measures to destroy these terrorist organizations. These are two separate things. We are not thinking about issues pertaining to the economy when we think of the state of emergency. Those are things that are Going Forward under the normal reform process with parliament and the government. The economy is a den of extraction. There could be some developing you might need to take precaution for. You will take that precaution. These are things you have to decide in the moment. When you became prime minister, you said changing turkey into a president ial system, president ial democracy, was your priority. Has anything changed in that after last week . For example, especially regarding the timeline of that change, are you still considering a referendum should parliament not pass this as you desire . Is there a possibility of early elections . P. M. Yildirim early elections are out of the question. I am underlining this and being very clear about it. There are some circles trying to confuse people by saying the ak party has been strengthened after this coup and will go for an ambush election. This is not even crossing our minds. We dont find it ethical. We have been given authority by the nation for four years and we will use this authority for four years. If anybody a to confiscate this authority from oscar from us, we will fall on their heads like a slant hammer and we did. Anyone thinking about doing such a thing should watch their step. We had elections three times last year, so we have no time to lose with an election. Or us, election means slowing the economy and halting government plans for the future. Secondly, the president ial system is not todays matter. The writing of a new constitution is something all Political Parties in turkey have desired over the last 15 years. The president ial system is something that needs to be discussed within the framework of the debate on the n