STORY: Turkish president vows to tackle rising cost of living
DATELINE: Aug. 15, 2023
LENGTH: 00:01:26
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
2. various of people on streets
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
4. various of quake-affected cities in Türkiye

STORYLINE:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pledged to tackle the escalating cost of living crisis in the country and find solutions to alleviate the burden on Turkish citizens.

Erdogan made the statement in a video message to the 22nd founding anniversary of his ruling Justice and Development Party.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"We are aware that the high cost of living caused by the effects of global crises on our country has been suffocating our nation recently. As we have solved every problem in our country, I hope we will solve this problem too. It is our duty to raise the living standard of our people, from employees to retirees, who have lost their welfare in this process."
 
Türkiye's high inflation and the devaluation of the Turkish lira have tormented consumers over the last few years, despite government measures to ramp up wages and pensions.
 
Türkiye's annual inflation climbed to 47.83 percent in July, marking the first increase since October last year, when the country's inflation hit a record high of 85 percent.
 
Erdogan also noted that his government is working to rebuild cities damaged in the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes at a total cost of 104 billion U.S. dollars.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"On the one hand, we are working to rebuild our destroyed cities. On the other hand, we are working to lower the cost of living."
 
Erdogan, who was re-elected in May, assembled his new economic team, raising the hope that the country might move away from its unorthodox strategy of maintaining low-interest rates even when inflation soars.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)