Work on new medium-term program nears completion
ANKARA
Work on the medium-term program (OVP), which will serve as the roadmap for Türkiye’s economy for the 2026–2028 period, is nearing completion.
The program is shaping expectations for key areas such as financial and price stability, growth, and the employment outlook. It will also include expenditure ceiling proposals for public administrations.
The new OVP is expected to be announced to the public at a meeting chaired by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz on a date to be determined.
Members of the economic administration are also expected to answer questions related to their respective ministries. The upcoming program is anticipated to highlight policies on inflation and growth, as well as structural reforms.
Following the Cabinet Meeting on Aug. 25, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated: "We consider 2026 as a year of economic reform and are swiftly finalizing preparations for the reforms we plan to implement.”
The OVP is jointly prepared by the Presidency’s Strategy and Budget Directorate and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance and is published in the Official Gazette following the approval of Erdoğan.
The program sets out macroeconomic policies, key economic indicators, income and expenditure forecasts, budget balance and borrowing projections, and outlines the macroeconomic policy framework, targets, priority reform areas and their timelines.
In the OVP covering the 2025–2027 period, the economy was targeted to grow by 4 percent in 2025, 4.5 percent in 2026, and 5 percent in 2027.
"In the coming period, growth is expected to gradually converge toward its potential, thanks to more favorable financial conditions and reduced global uncertainties," Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said this week, commenting on the latest GDP data. The figures showed that the economy expanded by 4.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, accelerating from 2.3 percent in the previous quarter.
He added that the new medium-term program [for 2026–2028] will build upon “our current achievements.”
In the current program, Inflation was projected at 17.5 percent for this year, 9.7 percent for 2026, and 7 percent for 2027.
The budget deficit-to-GDP ratio was forecast at 3.1 percent in 2025, falling to 2.5 percent by the end of the program period.
The unemployment rate target was set at 9.6 percent for 2025, 9.2 percent for 2026, and 8.8 percent for 2027.
Exports were projected to reach $279.6 billion by the end of this year, $296.1 billion in 2026, and $319.6 billion by the end of the program. Imports were forecast at $369 billion in 2025, $390.6 billion in 2026, and $417.5 billion in 2027.
