Turkey in better shape

Hürriyet Daily News with wires

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Katsu told business daily Referans that while in Turkey, he would visit the southeastern city of Gaziantep, Ankara and Istanbul. He has been visiting leaders of the business world and from the finance and industry sectors, including the Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association, or TÜSİAD, The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, or TOBB, and officials of Akbank, the country's biggest bank. He will then prepare a report estimating how much Turkey will be affected by the crisis.

Turkey is a very valuable partner for the World Bank, said Kattsu. “Therefore, I personally wanted to come here and talk to as many people as possible, to draw a general picture of the current situation in the country.

The key is to be prepared, be nimble and develop a decision-making tree that allows you to respond quickly. Turkey has been in a eriod of reform for the past six to seven years. The country has come a long way since the 2001 economic crisis,” Katsu said.

“Turkey's position is substantially better than it was in 2001 and it is important to remember that the country is not in crisis,” he added.  “Having experienced this in its recent past is an asset for Turkey now in terms of crisis management.”

Also speaking on the Turkish budget, “Turkish authorities submitted the budget based on a four percent growth forecast but I understand that there is explicit acknowledgement that in the meantime some of the basic assumptions have changed because of this fast-moving crisis. There is recognition that things are moving. They are not blind to it,” said Katsu.

On the World Bank's lending program in Turkey, Katsu said that the World Bank has a four-year program, designed so that the first two years are more stable.

“The idea is to maintain flexibility to cope with new evolving situations. New ideas are going to come up reflecting the emerging situation.''