Turkey’s Finance Ministry announces World Bank loan for 'vulnerable groups' has 'nothing to do with LGBT'

Duvar English

Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry on April 16 announced that the loans for cooperation between the World Bank (WB) and Turkey "have nothing to do with the Istanbul Convention and LGBT.”

In a written statement made by the Ministry on X, it was argued that the allegations circulating on social media regarding the Country Cooperation Framework (CPF) document, which is a roadmap for 5-year cooperation with the WB, are unfounded.

The ministry stated that WB loans aim at sustainable growth with a focus on poverty reduction and equal sharing of welfare, "The common interest of the society is taken into consideration in the use of these resources. The term  'vulnerable groups' in the CPF program mainly refers to those working in occupational groups that will be adversely affected by the green transformation and those who face difficulties in accessing finance."

The ministry stated that WB projects aim to include these groups in changing production standards and thus increase employment and reduce poverty and added, "has nothing to do with the Istanbul Convention and LGBT."

It also announced that these loans “would not be used for refugees.”

On April 11, WB announced the new CPF document with Turkey titled, “Focus on Productivity Growth, Jobs and Resilience Against Natural Disasters.”The Group expects to deliver $18 billion between 2024-2018.

In the document the WB stated that “Inclusive services and jobs: To address income and other inequalities, the focus will be to improve jobs for women, youth and vulnerable groups; reduce disparities in health and education access and quality; and support resilient municipal infrastructure and services,” as one of the challenges that would be focused on.

WB's Turkey office on April 16 posted a thread on X and stated, "In view of some statements, we want to clarify that support to the private sector is one of the #TürkiyeCPF’s main goals."

The bank underscored that $12B would be allocated to private firms and the remainder would be allocated for the earthquake relief operations.

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