Abu Dhabi ( CNN ) -- Turkey straddles Europe and Asia , is a gateway for oil and gas imports going into Europe and its economy has trebled in size over the past decade . The country 's gross domestic product is now a sizable $ 773 billion . It also represents the fourth letter of a new acronym crafted by Goldman Sachs ( the investment bank which identified the BRIC nations ) to highlight stable , fast growing countries : MIST : Mexico , Indonesia , South Korea and Turkey . What 's happening with the BRICS ? But after blistering growth of between 8.5 % and 9 % growth in the past two years , the country has hit a patch of turbulence . Investors are now eager to find out whether this economy can stabilize after tumbling 2.9 % in the second quarter of this year . Mehmet Simsek , a former London-based investment banker and economist who is now finance minister of Turkey , is confident the current quarter represents the trough . `` A modest growth is also likely in the third quarter , but from the fourth quarter onwards a pick up seems reasonably likely , '' he told CNN . Turkey 's central bank moved to support growth with a larger than expected 1.5 % cut in the main interest rate Wednesday , pushing it down to 10 % . Now that the U.S. Federal Reserve , the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan have provided more liquidity , Turkey believes there is room to maneuver . `` The move by the Turkish Central Bank should be considered in the context of both domestic and international conditions , '' Simsek said in an interview from Ankara . `` The slow down is partly micro-managed . It 's part of moving to more sustainable growth . '' Iran and Turkey battle for Iraq supremacy . The government is facing other issues . It is having difficulty controlling the two major outbreaks of violence at its doorstep . Syrian refugees continue to flood in , officially 80,000 to date , and there 's been a flare up of the crisis with Kurdish militants in the south-eastern corner of the country . Both challenges will continue to chip away at Turkey 's predominant role as the hub for East-West trade if they escalate and drag on for years rather than months . But there is a silver lining in this slow down . During the years of rapid growth , economists fretted over the country 's double digit current account deficit . Imports have slowed down and exports are booming -- up 20 % in the second quarter -- despite the slowdown in the European Union . From over 10 % of GDP , the deficit is now down to a manageable 7.4 % -- and the finance minister is aiming to get that down to 6 % within the next two years .
Turkey , straddling Europe and Asia , has a gross domestic product of $ 773 billion . It represents the fourth letter of a new acronym crafted by Goldman Sachs : MIST . After blistering growth in the past two years the country has hit a patch of turbulence . But there is a silver lining in this slow down .