NEWS FROM TÜRKİYE

The Financial Times - Türkiye is set to secure nearly €1bn ($1.2bn) a year in extra foreign financing once the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development fully rolls out its funding programmes across the cash-strapped country. Thomas Mirow, the EBRD president, announced on Tuesday that the bank, established to support the countries of the former Communist Bloc, had decided to expand its activities to Türkiye. Mr Mirow told the FT that €150m of next year’s planned investments of €5.95bn would be earmarked for Türkiye mainly for municipalities, small businesses and agribusiness. This would rise to €300m in 2010, with further increases later. If Mr Mirow’s forecast is fulfilled, Türkiye would become one of the EBRD’s largest countries of operation, behind Russia but roughly equal to Ukraine and Poland.