By Gokhan Kurtaran
LONDON
Turkey is a success story for having paid off its debt to the International Monetary Fund, Ukraine's Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko has said.
Jaresko told Anadolu Agency at London-based international affairs think tank Chatham House on Wednesday that her country was learning from the Turkey model.
She said Turkey had been going through financial difficulties at the start of 2000 and it was significant accomplishment for Turkey to be able to pay off the IMF.
The last installment of Turkey's debt to the IMF was transferred from the Turkish Central Bank in Ankara on May 14, 2013 - a development regarded as historic in terms of the country's economy.
Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the ongoing conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has badly hit the Ukrainian economy.
Humanitarian aid
Since the beginning of Ukraine crisis, the country has received several loans from the IMF, which has signed off on a $17.5 billion aid programme for Ukraine to help the country avoid bankruptcy.
Jaresko said Ukraine had received the first part of the aid - $5 billion - and that the second part would be delivered in June.
Turkey has also decided to provide $50 million in aid to Ukraine, the minister said, adding Ankara would also provide a further $10 million in humanitarian aid.
Jaresko called on Turkish companies to go to Ukraine in order to carry out business, especially in construction, and help build Ukraine's infrastructure.
She pointed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Ukraine on March 20 and meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, saying it was "a good start".
The visit was the first official contact between the presidents.
