Apart from IMF officials in Ankara, experts on Turkey from IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, are also participating in the negotiations, along with high-ranking Turkish bureaucrats although it has been emphasized that the talks are to be carried out by a “small team.”
Under either a two-year or 18-month stand-by deal with the IMF, Turkey will be provided with additional funds that are expected to positively affect the country’s growth rate and risk premium.
Anatolia’s sources stressed that Turkey is seeking a program that supports its fiscal discipline and the targets set in its Middle Term Economic Program. The government does not want the program to slow down investments either, they said, adding that these conditions had been accepted by the fund.
The latest financial measures taken by the government were reportedly presented to the IMF as justification for recent increases in pensions and other expense items under the country’s budgetary discipline. During the talks, the sides also drew attention to Turkey’s compliance with the Maastricht criteria of the EU in its public financing deficit and fiscal discipline. Incentives and investments were also emphasized in the meetings as important and necessary tools for overcoming the global financial crisis, sources reportedly said.
Van Elkan is expected to arrive in Ankara soon to conclude the talks between Turkey and the IMF. Following the talks, a letter of intent signed by Turkey will be sent to the IMF Executive Board for approval.
