UPDATE WITH MORE DETAILS
By Sefa Sengul
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey is conducting talks to establish swap lines with members of G20, with more than one swap line possible, said the country's treasury and finance minister.
"We are doing one-to-one swap negotiations with G20 countries with which we have a trade deficit and a free trade agreement," Berat Albayrak said in a closed-door online meeting with international investors.
He added that though it would not be appropriate to comment on the negotiations before they concluded, "it is highly possible to make swap agreements with more than one country."
He also said Turkey did not plan to negotiate swap lines with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The country's reserves are sufficient, Albayrak stressed, adding that banks and the private sector were easily able to roll over their debt.
He added that the treasury had only $4.7 billion of remaining debt, which would be rolled over in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic had been brought under control in Turkey and the country had begun to ease measures gradually, noted Albayrak.
Despite the decline in exports and tourism, there will be no significant change in the current account balance due to falling commodity prices, the minister stressed.
He noted that economic activity would return to normal in the second half of this year at the latest.
Previously, Murat Uysal, the Turkish Central Bank governor, denied that the country was not in negotiations with the IMF for resource or swap lines, but was in contact with its global counterparts to establish new swap agreements amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 187 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.
The pandemic has killed more than 258,000 worldwide, with total infections over 3.69 million, while recoveries surpassed 1.21 million, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.
In Turkey, over 73,000 of the total 129,491 patients have recovered from the virus, while 3,584 have died.
* Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul
