ANKARA Turkey's newly appointed Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Sunday that the country has no choice but to return to "rational ground" to ensure predictability in the economy.

President Tayyip Erdogan named Simsek to his cabinet on Saturday to tackle Turkey's cost-of-living crisis and other strains, in a clear sign that his newly elected government would return to more orthodox economic policies.

In a handover ceremony, Simsek said the main goal of the new government will be to increase social welfare.

"Transparency, consistency, predictability and compliance with international norms will be our basic principles in achieving this goal," Simsek said.

(Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Hugh Lawson)