ANKARA - The Turkish government is determined to push ahead with a delayed bill reforming the social security sector, a key demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a stand-by deal worth 10 billion dollars (8.3 billion euros), Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Wednesday.
The IMF told Turkey earlier this month that it must adopt the social security reform, along with a banking law, to qualify for the next 800-million-dollar (671-million-euro) instalment of the support.
Parliament enacted the banking reform on Saturday, but went into summer recess until October 1 without debating the social security bill.
"We are dead set on the passing this bill," said Gul, who is currently standing in for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is on a private visit to the United States.
"The bill has been delayed, but we will pass it once parliament reopens," he told the NTV news channel, arguing that the delay would not strain ties with the IMF.
Turkey and the IMF signed a new three-year stand-by deal in May to succeed a 16-billion-dollar credit arrangement that helped the country's economy emerge from its worst recession in decades, spawned by two severe crises in the financial sector.
The programme aims to help Turkey consolidate its recovery and get in shape for membership of the European Union as it prepares to begin accession talks with the bloc later this year.
07/06/2005 10:39 GMT