ANKARA - International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Representative in Turkey Odd Per Brekk has said that they wanted Turkey to be successful and they had the intention of doing their best to this end, adding that he thought concerns over current account deficit were exaggerated.
Speaking on CNBC-E television channel on Wednesday, Brekk said that Turkey and IMF could continue their relations with a post-program follow-up, cautionary stand-by or regular stand-by in 2005.
Stressing that it was totally up to the Turkish government, Brekk said that it was a matter on which Turkey should make a decision and it was a decision to be made by Turkey.
Noting that the Turkish government was evaluating those three options, Brekk said they would reach a decision by mid-2004.
Stating that they were impressed by Turkey's performance, Brekk said that everything was on track and they were pleased with the Turkish government's determination.
Asked of IMF's opinions about current account deficit in Turkey, Brekk said that concerns over current account deficit were exaggerated.
It was natural to have high current account deficit in early months of the year due to seasonal causes, Brekk added.
Brekk said that Turkey's economy had become much resistant compared to three or four years ago and there had been several gains especially under the economic program.
Turkey had a floating currency that functioned very well and it undertook a role against shocks, Brekk said and noted that high primary budget surplus positively affected Turkey's borrowing level and especially the banking sector more powerful compared to three or four years ago.
Noting that current account balance was estimated to be nearly 9 billion U.S. dollars, Brekk said, ''maybe it would be a little high.'' However, it should not create concerns as long as the economic program was implemented with determination.
Stressing that he did not think there was need to take a series of measures against current account balance at the moment, Brekk said that there was not such a requirement when balance of payments and the inflation that remained below the target were taken into consideration.
(MS-AÖ) 12.05.2004