At his Government’s invitation, Dr. Argüden returned to Turkiye in 1988 to lead the Privatization Program until 1990. It was during his tenure that the first foreign direct investments were attracted to the Turkish Privatization program and the public offering of the Government's shares in industrial enterprises helped the Istanbul Stock Exchange to flourish. In addition, the Turkish buyers of the privatized companies increased investments to improve their competitiveness, and the Turkish investment banking industry was established. During this period, Dr. Argüden also served on the executive boards of public institutions, including Petkim and Sümerbank. Later he was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister in 1991.

Dr. Argüden continued to contribute in the public sector by leading initiatives in the non-governmental organizations such as the National Quality Movement which helped improve the management quality in the public sector. He also made contributions to public policy making as the Chairman of TUSIAD’s Public Reform Work Group and TESEV Executive Board member, responsible for TESEV’s Good Governance Program.

As the Chairman of the ‘Development Strategies Council' workgroup, formed by the State Planning Institute, he participated in the efforts to define Turkiye’ vision for 2020.