The World Bank’s Regional Director in Türkiye, Humberto Lopez, expressed the Bank’s readiness to support the economic policies of the Turkish government.
This came as he answered questions from the Turkish official Anadolu News Agency on Thursday about the World Bank’s activities and future plans in Türkiye.
Lopez stressed the bank’s determination to accompany Türkiye in implementing policies that would stabilize the economy in the country, and said, “In addition to our ongoing program worth $17 billion, we expect to prepare and present new operations worth $18 billion to the Board of Directors of the World Bank Group over the three years”.
He explained that this amount includes direct loans to the government and support for the private sector, and said, “Support for the Turkish private sector can reach two-thirds by mobilizing direct investment, guarantees, and about $5 billion for commercial financing”.
Lopez continued, “If we take into account all financing instruments, this means a total temporary financial package of about $35 billion”.
He expressed his belief that the tightening of monetary policy implemented by the Turkish Central Bank, the easing of distorted financial regulations, and the fiscal revenue measures aimed at reducing the fiscal deficit by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance are steps in the right direction.
The World Bank is currently in advanced talks to double its transactions with Türkiye.
Lopez believe that the medium-term plan provides a broad vision for the policies that will form the basis of the government’s efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability.
“All I can add from the World Bank Group’s point of view is that we are ready to support the Turkish government efforts in implementing the structural agenda,” Lopez said.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed the medium-term economic program, which is a 3-year road map.
The program covers the period from 2024 to 2026, and the basic economic objectives have been set.
Recent data in Türkiye showed that net international reserves at the country’s central bank increased by about $430 million to $16.15 billion in the week ending September 1.
Reserves fell to $5.7 billion in the week ending June 2, the lowest level since the data was published in 2002, when the authorities sought to meet the demand for foreign exchange and stabilize the Turkish currency ahead of the elections, as reserves have been increasing since that time.
