Turkey's government named on Monday, July 30, a new transport and communication minister to replace the previous occupant of the post who was forced to resign due to his opposition to IMF-sought reforms.
A decree appointing Oktay Vural, a deputy from the coalition's far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), to the post received a formal presidential approval, Anatolia news agency reported.
Vural, a former manager at state-run oil and gas companies, will replace the controversial Enis Oksuz, an outspoken IMF adversary, who stepped down earlier this month under strong pressure from financial markets and the media.
His opposition to an IMF-backed economic program had sparked fears that intra-government discords could derail the reforms and drag Turkey into a third economic crisis after turmoil in February and last November.
Oksuz's resistance to changes in the Turkish Telekom management board delayed the release of $3.2 billion in aid from the Fund and the World Bank, sending the lira into a nosedive and pushing interest rates up. The markets rebounded later following his resignation on July 17. ― (AFP, Ankara)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
