IMF, World Bank & IFI Round-Up

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation arrived in Ankara for talks on a new agreement between the Fund and Turkey, a government source said. The source told Reuters the discussions will begin on the morning of Jan. 8, when the IMF team, headed by Turkey desk chief Rachel van Elkan, will meet Turkish Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek. Talks will then begin at a technical level with economic bureaucrats. Turkish business leaders and investors have long called for an IMF loan accord to stabilize the economy, which has slowed sharply as the global crisis hits its financial markets.