## IMF Managing Director Opening Remarks for IMFC Press Conference

_IMF News, April 8, 2021_

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**Canonical URL:** [IMF Managing Director Opening Remarks for IMFC Press Conference](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/04/08/sp-040821-imf-managing-director-opening-remarks-for-imfc-press-conference)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: April 8, 2021

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### Context and setting
- Date: April 8, 2021
- Event: Managing Director’s Press Conference following the Communiqué of the Forty-third Meeting of the IMFC and Spring Meetings 2021.
- Themes referenced from Spring Meetings 2021: Bolstering the Recovery, Countering the Divergence; The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda, Spring Meetings 2021; Curtain Raiser Speech: Giving People a Fair Shot—Policies to Secure the Recovery.

### Assessment of the global economy
- "The global economy is on firmer footing."
- Continued existence of many challenges that "can only be met through stronger international cooperation."
- Encouragement by the IMFC’s support for multilateral approaches to strengthen the global economy and for the Fund’s agenda going forward.

### Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation
- Proposed SDR allocation amount: $650 billion.
- Characterization: "a number of our members called it historic"; "this is the largest boost to reserves that our membership is giving us a mandate to follow up on."
- Expected impacts:
  - "It will provide a substantial liquidity boost to all our members, especially the most vulnerable."
  - Will include "stepping up transparency to ensure good governance for everybody’s benefit."
  - Innovation: enabling "some of our better-off members to be able to allocate their SDRs for the common purpose of bringing the more vulnerable members to a sounder position."
- Timeline intent: "I hope we can update you in the next few months on how we are delivering on the mandate we have been given today."

### IMF role and tools
- Past response: IMF "stepped up in an unprecedented way—by providing critical new financing to a record number of countries as well as debt service relief."
- Forward role: ensure that "our lending tools and policy advice offer the best possible support to help them navigate this difficult road ahead."

### Policy transition and priorities
- Described policy transition for member countries: from crisis to recovery, then to "mitigate and heal the economic scars" and to "seize opportunities for structural transformation."
- Equity objective: "We want to make sure that everyone has a fair shot at building a better life."
- Cross-cutting priorities mentioned for the Fund’s agenda: crisis response, SDR allocation, macro-critical aspects of climate change and digitalization.

### Governance and leadership
- Appreciation expressed to the IMFC Chair (Magdalena) for stewardship: "You did a fabulous job today by keeping us focused."
- Expectation that the Chair will "steer our work, so that we do bring forward a more prosperous, green, and inclusive opportunity for everyone in the global economy."

*IMF Managing Director Opening Remarks for IMFC Press Conference, April 8, 2021*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva)
- [Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)
- [PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)
- [Communiqué of the Forty-third Meeting of the IMFC](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/04/08/communique-of-the-forty-third-meeting-of-the-imfc)
- [Speech: Managing Director's Press Conference](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/04/07/sp-fostering-a-fair-recovery)
- [The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda, Spring Meetings 2021 : Bolstering the Recovery, Countering the Divergence](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/Policy-Papers/Issues/2021/04/07/The-Managing-Directors-Global-Policy-Agenda-Spring-Meetings-2021-Bolstering-the-Recovery-50343)
- [Spring Meetings 2021 Curtain Raiser Speech: Giving People a Fair Shot—Policies to Secure the Recovery](https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/03/25/sp033021-SMs2021-Curtain-Raiser)
- [https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2021/04/08/sp-040821-imf-managing-director-opening-remarks-for-imfc-press-conference_