President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday reaffirmed his government's determination to bring inflation down to single digits, acknowledging the burden of the high cost of living while underscoring sustained political stability as the essential foundation for economic recovery.

Erdoğan delivered his remarks at a ceremony in the capital Ankara celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hak-İş Confederation, one of Türkiye's largest labor unions.

Congratulating the confederation on its half-century of work, Erdoğan praised Hak-İş for contributing to a "healthy labor order" and safeguarding democracy. He particularly highlighted the union's "unideological stance," which he described as one of its greatest strengths.

"The Hak-İş has played a key role in thwarting the attacks against our democracy in the past 50 years, especially in the past 23 years," Erdoğan said, referencing the period his Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been in power.

The president also commended the union for its humanitarian efforts, including support for crisis zones like Gaza and Somalia, and its assistance following the catastrophic February earthquakes in southeastern Türkiye.

Erdoğan called on Hak-İş to continue strengthening employer-worker relations and to oppose practices that could amount to "modern slavery," noting that his government has implemented numerous labor reforms since coming to power.

He directly linked the nation's progress over the last two decades to the benefits of uninterrupted governance. "Türkiye's progress over the past two decades demonstrated the benefits of political stability," he stated.

Turning to the economy, the president directly addressed one of the most pressing issues for Turkish citizens: persistent inflation.

"We will continue to work to reduce inflation to single digits," Erdoğan asserted. "We know we still have a long way to go, but we have the commitment and patience to do so."

The speech signals the government's continued focus on its economic program amid significant pressure on household budgets, framing political continuity as the primary vehicle for achieving long-term price stability. (ILKHA)