The World Bank and Türkiye formalized a 500 million USD loan agreement on Friday, with World Bank Türkiye Director Andrew Vorkink and State Minister Ali Babacan announcing the deal at a joint press conference in Ankara.
Vorkink said Türkiye had weathered recent financial turbulence thanks to its foreign currency reserves, an independent central bank, a healthy banking sector, and a floating exchange rate. He credited the government's structural reforms and macroeconomic policies with bringing inflation into single digits, restoring fiscal discipline, and attracting foreign investment.
The loan is tied to social security reform and is expected to benefit future generations, Vorkink said. He added that continued structural reform would shield Türkiye from future global market disruptions.
The World Bank also signaled plans to support Türkiye in energy, infrastructure, environment, and job creation. Recent surveys ranked Türkiye second among countries benefiting from World Bank projects, and Vorkink described Türkiye as one of the institution's most dependable partners.
Friday's disbursement is the first of three 500 million USD tranches under the Programmatic Public Sector Development Policy Loan. The full 1.5 billion USD package is expected to be delivered before the end of 2006.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in July 2006, in its own words.