News Brief

Members of the Executive Board of the IMF today met in Washington with the members of the UN Bureau for the Preparatory Committee of the High Level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development (FfD) for an exchange of views on topics on the FfD agenda.

The meeting was constructive and focused generally on the preliminary agenda for the event. This includes, notably, the role of sound domestic economic and financial policies in mobilizing local and international financial resources for development; the role of industrial countries in supporting development financing, including through expanded opportunities for trade, and debt relief; ways in which developing countries can access international financial markets and how financial market crises could be better preempted and managed. Also discussed were ways in which the Fund can contribute to the success of the High Level Event, now scheduled for early 2002.

At the conclusion, Mr. Horst Köhler, Managing Director of the IMF, said:

"I would like to thank the members of the Bureau for the Financing for Development High Level Event, and the members of the Fund's Executive Board for what has proven to be a stimulating and constructive discussion. We are happy that this meeting was possible."

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/