Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged his citizens and businesses on Wednesday to convert their foreign currency savings into the lira (national currency), as Ankara seeks to boost demand for the lira.

Erdogan said - after a cabinet meeting - that 163 billion lira ($12.2 billion) had been deposited into accounts, as part of a government system that protects lira deposits from exchange rate drops.

And the new financial mechanism called the Turkish Lira Deposit, which is protected from exchange rate fluctuations, guarantees the lira depositor not to fall victim to exchange rate fluctuations, and to obtain the declared interest, in addition to the difference in the dollar price between the time of deposit and withdrawal.

On another occasion today, Erdogan said that his country had succeeded in manufacturing armed drones, despite the parties that underestimated its capabilities in this regard.

During the 51st meeting with the district and village mayors in the capital, Ankara, he stressed that Turkey is currently emerging as the strongest alternative at a time when the center of global production and trade is changing.

While the existing factories in the industry are operating at full capacity, new investments are constantly being made, the president said.

He added: We have approached the 30 million mark in employment by reaching a higher level than we were before the Corona pandemic.

Erdogan stressed that Turkey's foreign trade volume has reached $500 billion, of which more than $225 billion is for exports.