IMF chief boosts Turkey's prospects to join executive board

Speaking during the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs' summit held over the weekend, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn talked up Turkey's chances of joining the fund's executive board. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Strauss-Kahn said everyone at the summit sees Turkey as "a good candidate for the board." He added, "Europe will decide how it will leave those two seats. But everybody thinks Turkey is a good candidate. And I think this is reasonable." But talks on the issue could go on for some time, he cautioned. "Turkey's economy is going well. This year, annual gross domestic product growth is foreseen at around 7.5-8 percent, which is a high figure," he said. "Its budget deficit figures are also good. The only concern is that it may be growing too fast. Turkey is importing too much, so it has to be careful on its current account deficit. But I think the government is managing the issue well. There's no reason to be concerned for next year, either. I think things will be just fine."