An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation began talks with Turkish officials in Ankara on Friday, September 7, to screen the progress of economic reforms envisaged in a May stand-by deal.
The Turkish treasury said the meetings would focus on the evaluation of macro-economic balances since the beginning of the year, and on discussions over economic targets and budgetary figures in 2002.
The IMF executive board will take up the results of the screening talks in October and if it approves the progress, Turkey will receive a loan tranche of about three billion dollars (3.4 billion euros), the statement said. The evaluation talks are held on a regular basis and usually last about 10 days.
Turkey and the Fund agreed in May on a program of strict reforms to battle a severe financial turmoil that hit the country in February. If the program remains on track, Turkey will receive a total of $15.7 billion in aid from the IMF and the World Bank by the end of the year.
The February financial shake-up, sparked by fears of political instability, forced the Ankara government to abandon a pegged exchange regime, a move that bungled an earlier IMF-backed economic plan. — (AFP, Ankara)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
