CB head hails Istanbul finance hub project

Government plans to make Istanbul one of the world's prominent finance centers should be supported by every Turkish citizen, said Central Bank head Durmus Yilmaz late on Monday. "The proposal to turn Istanbul into a finance center is worth being supported by every citizen," Yilmaz told a group of journalists on the sidelines of a reception held by Sabanci Holding Chair Guler Sabanci. Touching on the importance of next week’s annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Istanbul, Yilmaz said Turkey's prestige and the global economic recovery would benefit from these events. "The last such meetings that convened in Turkey were in 1955. The second one will take place in 2009. This shows the importance of Turkey and the level its economy has reached," he stated. At last week’s G-20 summit, Yilmaz said its decisions would help end the global crisis, but added, "We first need to see the implementation of these decisions. What I can say is that Turkey is fulfilling its responsibilities towards this end."