Press Release No. 05/72

Hugh Bredenkamp, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Senior Resident Representative in Turkey, issued the following statement today:

"In December 2004, discussions were concluded with the Turkish authorities on the elements of an economic program and draft letter of intent that could be supported under a new three-year stand-by arrangement (see Press Release No. 04/265). As noted at that time, a number of steps—relating mainly to key pieces of legislation regarding financial services, social security, and tax administration—were envisaged before the request for the new arrangement could be considered by the IMF's Executive Board.

"The authorities have informed IMF staff that progress has been made on these measures. They have invited a mission to Turkey to assess the alignment of policies with the understandings reached in December, and to update and finalize the letter of intent. The mission, which will begin work on April 4 and stay for about one week, will be headed by Mr. Reza Moghadam. Mr. Lorenzo Giorgianni, Mr. Moghadam's designated successor as IMF mission chief for Turkey, will accompany the mission."