Talks between the International Monetary Fund and Turkey on a possible loan "are no longer taking place," the IMF said on Tuesday, saying economic conditions in the country had improved.

Turkish Treasury Undersecretariat said on Wednesday that a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was invited to Turkey on April 24-25 to have talks on Article IV following IMF-World Bank spring meetings.

The IMF said a mission would travel to Turkey for annual consultations on the economy.

According to a press release posted on Treasury Undersecretariat's web-page, talks on Article IV was a consultation mechanism required to be fulfilled by all member countries every year under IMF Main Deal.

The statement said parties discuss finance and monetary policies, examine foreign balance and public debt developments and assess impacts of policies on growth and balance of payments during the negotiations.

Asked whether the talks would include discussions on a possible follow-up stand-by loan, an IMF spokeswoman said: "Attention has now turned to the Article IV consultation, and program discussions are no longer taking place."

The statement said Turkey lately carried out review of Article IV in May 2007, and noted that the consultation process will reveal daily outlook of Turkish economy and enable the parties assess the framework of the relations.

Separately, IMF official, Caroline Atkinson, said IMF agreed with Turkish officials to conduct an annual review of Turkey's economy, the outlook for which has "strengthened" as the global economy and financial markets recover.


Agencies