Turkey submits its program for IMF deal, waits reply-economy min

IMF, late on Sunday said that work on new deal with Turkey was under way, adding that the was deal expected to be reached in weeks.

"I believe that we will reach an agreement in the coming weeks," Managing Director of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a news conference during the IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, Reuters and the state-run Anatolian Agency reported.

He added that nothing has changed in the last four days of negotiations: "We had a long discussion. We are still working with them," according to the reports.

Simsek flew to Washington on Thursday to continue negotiations with the fund on a standby agreement to help the country weather the global economic and financial crisis.

It has been almost a year since Turkey's $10 billion loan accord with the IMF expired, and the government has been in no hurry to secure a new deal despite calls from investors for a new agreement.

The Turkish economy has slumped in recent months, falling more than 6 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. It was the first contraction since 2001, when the economy shrank nearly 10 percent in the final quarter due to a domestic financial crisis.