WB-IMF Annual meetings wrap up in Istanbul
Economics 10/7/2009 9:01:00 PM
ISTANBUL, Oct 7 (KUNA) -- The joint annual meetings of the World Bank Group (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived at the conclusion here on Wednesday that the world economies have to pursue reforms in order to stop the economic downturn.
What is needed at present is more international cooperation to tackle the economic crises, said Nguyen Van Giau, chairman of the closing plenary session. The WB, the IMF and the world governments have to scale up their joint efforts in the long run to restore confidence and prevent risks, he urged.
The Bretton Woods institutions have to be modernized to pursue their leading roles in governing the world economy, he said, referring to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, on July 22, 1944 to found the IMF and WB.
The conferees held extensive debates about ways to increase international loaning and restore the world economic growth. Central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, and academics discussed a host of issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
After debating IMF and WB reports on financial stabilization and economic outlooks of Latin America, the Caribbean Euro-Zone and Central Asia, they agreed that the international financial system requires both leadership and inclusiveness.
The two-day Meetings also offered an opportunity for civil society organizations to share their views, and interact, with policymakers in a global setting. Turkey and the United States played host to the Meetings twice; Istanbul hosted the meetings in 1955.
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