Volume 12, Number 22

21 March 2006

 State Minister Ali Babacan Meets with IE Students

Last Friday, March 17, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan visited Bilkent University and met with industrial engineering students for a discussion on the administration of the Turkish economy and the country's progress towards European Union membership.

The seminar was organized by the Department of Industrial Engineering and coordinated by Prof. İhsan Sabuncuoğlu and Asst. Prof. Bahar Yetiş Kara. In introducing the guest speaker, Prof. Sabuncuoğlu stated that Mr. Babacan had received his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering and had been invited to discuss his topic from the viewpoint of an industrial engineer.

In his talk, Mr. Babacan divided reforms in Turkey into two areas, political and economic reforms. He argued that the economic reforms can survive only if they are supported by political stability and sustainable progress in the country's human rights record. Similarly, in speaking about Turkey's European Union candidacy, he stressed the importance of
making improvements in areas such as the environment and food safety, as well as ensuring basic freedoms and promoting structural reforms. He supported his arguments with comparisons between Turkey and its neighboring countries and their standards of living.

In the question and answer session following Mr. Babacan's talk, students asked about a number of current issues, including negotiations with European Union, inflation and Central Bank policies.

                                                                                                                  Erkan Bayır (MBG/II)