Turkey will receive $16 million in standby credit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), nine million of which is available for immediate withdrawal, confirmed an IMF statement. This is the third major aid program approved for Ankara in under two years. The credit was awarded in a bid to support Turkey's new three-year economic reform program, for 2002-2004.
The Turkish parliament approved a tight national budget for the year 2002 in early December, in line with the country’s reform pledges to the IMF. Nearly half of the budget’s $67-billion expenditures will be directed to interest payments. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
