Ankara, Jun 28 (IANS): Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has promised that the government would press ahead with rational economic policies, noting efforts to strengthen the country's reserves were at full speed.

"The return to rational policies will continue gradually," Simsek said on his official Twitter account.

Simsek was appointed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Finance Minister after a tough election in May, reports Xinhua news agency.

Erdogan, who defends lower rates as a means to stimulate growth, has said he would accept the policies taken by his new economic team to get the country out of its troubles.

Simsek vowed to return to "rational ground" soon after taking office early this month.

Last week, the central bank raised the interest rates from 8.5 per cent to 15 per cent, the first hike in more than two years that was welcomed by the market as a return to economic orthodox even though investors expected more.

"According to the CBRT (central bank) analytical balance sheet data, net international reserves recorded the largest weekly increase in history with $8.5 billion last week," Simsek said.

The government was "accelerating its efforts to obtain additional foreign resources to the country in order to further strengthen the reserves", he added.