Blog Avant Garde

Turkey will be the venue of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank this year. The annual gathering, which is one of the major meetings on economy, will take place in Istanbul on October 6-7, 2009. IMF and World Bank’s global economic importance, global economic crisis, ways to overcome the crisis, restructuring of the global financial system and measures to be taken to overcome stagnation are some of the issues to be discussed during the meeting, officials said. The annual meeting, which will begin with preparatory meetings on September 28, will host nearly 15,000 participants from 185 countries. IMF and World Bank executives, officials from international public organizations and NGOs, private sector representatives and academicians are expected to attend the gathering.
Mr. Murilo Portugal, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), today met with Turkish authorities in Istanbul to discuss preparations for the 2009 Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the World Bank and IMF, scheduled for October 6-7, 2009. Mr. Portugal, who was accompanied by Mr. G. Russell Kincaid, Acting Secretary of the IMF, met with representatives of the Government’s Planning Team and private sector representatives developing the facilities for the Meetings at Congress Valley.
“All eyes will be on Istanbul. The Annual Meetings are a unique opportunity for the ministers of finance and central bank governors from the 185 members of the IMF to discuss issues of great global economic importance, make decisions and provide guidance on the work agenda of the two institutions,” Mr. Portugal said. “We are impressed with the progress made to date by the Turkish authorities in preparations for the Meetings, and their continued efforts will facilitate the success of this important event,” he added.
Participants in the Annual Meetings will discuss the outlook for the global economy, developments in financial markets, the impact of the financial crisis, including on low-income countries, and the policy responses of member countries and the international community to the crisis.
This will be the second time that the Annual Meetings are held in Turkey ―the first time was in 1955, making the country the only one to host the Meetings twice since the World Bank and IMF were created in 1946.