Spring Meetings focus on IMF reform, global growth

• Pages: 81-83

Page 81

The world's top financial and development officials gather in Washington, D.C., on April 14-15 for meetings of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the World Bank-IMF Development Committee. High on the agenda of the IMFC will be the outlook for the world economy and progress with the IMF's mediumterm strategy. The Development Committee's agenda will include the latest Global Monitoring Report.

Page 83

Global economy, IMF reform top Spring Meetings agenda

The world's top financial and development officials will review the outlook for the global economy and assess progress with the IMF's medium-term strategy during the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington, D.C., on April 14-15. Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato will present a report to the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) outlining progress on a range of key issues since the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, held in Singapore last September.

The IMFC, chaired by U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, will review the outlook for the global economy.

Despite the recent turmoil in financial markets and concerns about the housing market in the United States, the IMF's World Economic Outlook predicts that strong global growth will continue, albeit at a somewhat reduced pace (see pages 84-85). De Rato is expected to brief the IMFC, the primary advisory committee of the Fund's Governors, on progress with reducing global payments imbalances through multilateral consultations. The IMFC will also hear from Pascal Lamy, Director of the World Trade Organization, on the status of world trade talks.

Revamping operations

The IMFC endorsed de Rato's medium-term strategy for the Fund at the Spring Meetings last May. Since then, the 185-member institution has been working to revamp operations in a number of areas, including its surveillance of global, regional, and country economies; help for low-income countries; governance of the IMF; and its income position.

Surveillance: The IMF is modernizing its surveillance framework and strengthening its monitoring and assessment of the financial sector and capital markets (see pages 94-95).

It is also discussing with members possible revisions in its approach to surveillance of exchange rates. But de Rato said in a speech prepared for delivery to the Peterson Institute for...