Turkey’s finance minister Kemal Unakitan talks to Stephen Timewell about involvement in a new development bank and the country’s privatisation strategy.

Erol Sabanci, chairman of Akbank, tells Stephen Timewell of his optimism on recent sector reforms and the political and economic outlook for Turkey.

Turkey has come a long way in achieving stability in the past year, a fact that recent events threaten to overshadow.

Turkish state investigators probing the collapse of Imar Bankasi – a
medium-sized bank that was owned by one of Turkey's richest families,
the controversial Uzans – have filed legal suits against the Capital
Market Board, an agency regulating securities trading, and the Istanbul
Stock Exchange.

The Turkish government is gearing up to dispatch troops to Iraq to assist in US-led peacekeeping operations and in the rebuilding of its south-eastern neighbour, in return for an $8.5bn soft US loan, despite protests from the Iraqis themselves and from Kurds living in the northern part of the country, writes Metin Demirsar.

As Turkey works towards qualifying for European Union membership, its privatisation programme is moving forward, with profitable state enterprises opening up to foreign investment.

Turkey’s new regulatory body began operations last month with sweeping powers to oversee the troubled banking sector.