Turkish deputy pm says sound decisions should be made in Europe

ANKARA (A.A) - July 20, 2011 - Turkish deputy premier said on Wednesday they hoped that sound decisions would be made in Europe and the political problem regarding debt limit would be solved in the United States.
Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan had a meeting with World Bank President Robert Zoellick in his office in Turkish capital of Ankara. After the meeting, Babacan and Zoellick held a press conference.
Babacan said that Zoellick who arrived in Ankara on Tuesday evening would proceed to Istanbul and would have talks with President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as representatives of Turkish private sector on Thursday.
Babacan said the International Finance Corporation, private sector development arm of the World Bank, opened its first branch in Istanbul apart from Washington. Nearly 160 people were working in office of IFC in Istanbul, he said. "IFC has been conducting activities to finance the private sector from Istanbul not only in Turkey but also whole region. Zoellick will also visit this office," he said.
"Cooperation between Turkish private sector and World Bank will be of great importance. There are 21 projects that will be conducted by Turkey and World Bank. We are also working on a new cooperation strategy covering the period between 2012 and 2015," Babacan said.
"We need significant reforms in several areas including education, jurisdiction and economy to reach 2023 goals of Turkey. We aim to be one of the 10 largest economies of the world. We attach a great importance to assistance to be provided by World Bank," he said.
Replying to a question, Babacan said, "we hope sound decisions would be made in Europe and the United States' political problem regarding debt limit would be solved. If they are not solved, we should be prepared for negative scenarios."
When a reporter reminded him that IMF projected growth rate of 8.7 percent in 2011 and 2.5 percent in 2012, Babacan said that it was not a projection prepared by Turkish officials and IMF, but only by IMF delegation.