The World Bank is considering additional financial assistance to Turkey after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, the bank's representative in Turkey said Thursday October 11.
Asked by journalists whether more aid in the offing, Ajay Chibber said: "Yes, the bank's support will continue," the Anatolia news agency reported. "We will give Turkey broader support within the pledges we made earlier," Chhibber added.
He said that the new aid would be used in the banking sector, and for social issues and public administration. In a news conference in Washington last week, Turkish Economy Minister Kemal Dervis expressed hope that Ankara would receive additional international aid to resist the economic fallout of the attacks in the US.
"We are working with the IMF and other institutions and countries interested in the Turkish economy to outline the financing profile for 2002," Dervis said. However, he refused to give details on the form and amount of the aid.
Turkey, the only Muslim country in NATO, is seen as a key US ally in the global fight against terrorism. The Turkish economy plunged into crisis in February after a cash crunch forced the government to abandon a pegged exchange regime, causing the Turkish lira to lose more than 50 percent of its value against the dollar. In May, Turkey started implementing a new package of tight reforms to put the economy back on track with multi-billion-dollar aid from the IMF and the World Bank. — (AFP, Ankara)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
