Turkish PM to present reform cabinet tomorrow

ANKARA, Aug 28 (Reuters) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan today said he expected to present his new reform-oriented cabinet tomorrow to his close ally Abdullah Gul, the president-elect, for approval.

The cabinet is expected to be made up of figures who will push ahead with economic and political reform, especially stalled reforms linked to joining the European Union.

''If I can get an appointment from our president, we are considering presenting the new cabinet tomorrow,'' Erdogan told reporters after Gul, the respected foreign minister, was elected president in a vote in parliament.

Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted AK Party was re-elected last month, has pledged to speed up EU reforms and make sweeping changes to the constitution, written by a military government in the 1980s.

Turkey won EU accession talks status in October 2005.

Erdogan has said the new government aims to double the country's 0 billion gross domestic product in the next five years. The fast-growing economy helped the AK Party win re-election.

Former Merrill Lynch economist Mehmet Simsek was expected to join Erdogan's cabinet as state minister in charge of treasury, government sources who declined to be identified told Reuters.

Ali Babacan, Turkey's chief EU negotiator and treasury minister, is expected to take over as foreign minister.

The treasury post is crucial. The minister manages Turkey's relations with the International Monetary Fund and Simsek's experience with capital markets should help. Turkey has a loan programme with the IMF dating from a financial crisis in 2001.

Another figure mentioned for the treasury post is Lutfi Elvan, known as an economic liberal and former deputy undersecretary of the State Planning Organisation and now an AKP member of parliament.

Incumbent Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, a close ally of Erdogan's, is expected to be promoted to deputy prime minister in charge of coordinating the economy.

Government sources told Reuters that Mustafa Acikalin, a former inspector in the finance ministry and now an AK Party member of parliament, was expected to be the next finance minister.

A government official said the different backgrounds of the ministers managing Turkey's economy could cause problems in the future.

''It may be difficult to take reform steps with this structure. We will see what kind of a performance they will show,'' the official said.

Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen and Energy Minister Hilmi Guler were expected to keep their posts, the sources said.

Ministry officials declined to comment.

REUTERS MS BST2145