Babacan: "The IMF-World Bank meeting benefited Turkey"

Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan yesterday said this week's International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Istanbul had a positive effect on Turkey. Speaking to reporters, Babacan said that thousands of people came to Istanbul to attend the meetings, and that on their sidelines, thousands of bilateral discussion between country representatives and representatives of financial institutions also took place, along with a number of seminars and events. He underlined that all leading global economic figures were in Istanbul this week. Babacan also spoke about the decisions made at the meetings, known as the "Istanbul Decisions." He praised the decision to boost the IMF quotas for certain countries out of fairness as the most important decision for Turkey. In line with this decision, Turkey's quota will be raised by at least five points by January 2011, he said. He said the influence of developing countries in the management of World Bank was discussed at the governors' meetings. He added that some decisions were made to ensure the equal participation of IMF members in its management. Turkey expects its IMF quota to increase to more than 1 percent, giving it the opportunity to get more financial aid at a lower cost. Babacan said the meetings show that international bodies have complete confidence in Turkey's economic policies. The government had the opportunity to announce its plan to turn Istanbul into a financial center during the meetings, Babacan said, adding that their action plan for doing so was discussed in numerous meetings by domestic and foreign banks and institutions. The action plan got positive reactions, he added. Babacan stated that these meetings had an important role in recognizing the development of the Turkish economy and its efforts to combat global problems.