An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission began talks here Friday on an austerity program hammered out with Turkey, a day after the Turkish privatisation minister resigned over comments he had made on the plan.
The IMF delegation has around 10 days to examine progress made by Turkish authorities on structural reforms needed to haul the economy out of a financial crisis which seized the country in February, Anatolia news agency reported.
The IMF agreed on May 15 to an eight-billion-dollar fund package for Turkey, and the panel led by Finn Juha Kahkonen is to decide whether to approve payment of a first tranche of 1.6 billion dollars (1.9 billion euros) in June.
The Turkish lira has lost around 40 percent of its value against the dollar since the country floated the currency on February 22 after Ankara was forced to abandon an IMF inflation-busting plan.
On Thursday, privatisation minister Yuksel Yalova resigned after comments he made on the IMF austerity program sent panic through the stock market.
Yalova had come out against what he described as the "rushed" drafting of a law liberalising Turkey's tobacco industry -- which he was in charge of -- as a key part of the IMF reforms.
His comments triggered a sudden five-percent plunge in the Istanbul stock market, which later recovered before closing slightly higher.
"I was misunderstood and my remarks were misinterpreted. I have resigned," Yalova told the NTV television news channel.
On Friday, the stock exchange welcomed his resignation, climbing 3.6-percent higher in midday trade to 11,276 points. |
