Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak made a quick visit to Kuwait to seek financial assistance in the amount of $1.8 billion amid Turkey’s mounting currency crisis but has not secured it, Ahval reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the meeting.
Albayrak flew to Kuwait on Sunday evening where he had a 40-minute meeting at the airport with the Kuwaiti finance minister, Nayef Al-Hajraf, and central bank governor, Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel, to request support during Turkey’s most severe currency crisis in decades.
However, the Kuwaiti officials gave no promises on the matter, said the source, who wished to remain anonymous due to the private nature of the talks.
Albayrak had said new measures would be revealed on Monday, but they were notably absent throughout the day as the lira continued its slide to almost seven to the dollar.
Turkey’s tempestuous relations with the United States has exacerbated what is seen by many as serious structural economic problems, with US sanctions on Turkey driving the lira even lower and eliciting growing talk of a severe economic crisis in the offing.
Albayrak is expected to continue seeking investment among Gulf Cooperation Council countries this week, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reportedly spoke to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a phone conversation on Monday evening.