Turkey to pay off its IMF debt in May

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s nearly $8 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will come to an end this May when it pays the $431 million final installment.

Turkey’s debt stock under the 19th stand-by arrangement with the IMF had been $860 million as of Jan. 28.

Though the IMF’s stand-by agreement with Turkey will be terminated; the Fund will continue to monitor Turkey as it does annually with every member country under the fourth article of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement.The IMF provides financial aid to its member states in need of additional funding in return for enforcing an economic program to get the country back on track as part of its Stand-by Agreement program. Turkey has signed 19 stand-by agreements with the IMF since its membership began in 1947, obtaining financial resources of over $50 billion. In the 52-year period, it has usually been obliged to apply during post-crisis periods. None of these agreements have been completed except the last two, which Turkey initiated without any prompt of a crisis.