Press Release No. 06/273

Press Release: IMF and Bank of Italy Host Discussion on Reform of IMF Surveillance

December 14, 2006

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank of Italy today hosted a seminar on "The IMF's Medium-Term Strategy: Effective Surveillance and Crisis Prevention," which was attended by senior officials, academics, and macroeconomic experts from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

The event was organized as part of the IMF's effort to actively seek a wide variety of views on its reform agenda as laid out in the Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) that was endorsed in April 2005 by the Fund's policy-guiding International Monetary and Financial Committee and is now being implemented. A similar exercise took place earlier this week in Santiago, Chile (see Press Release No. 06/270). IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky and Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Fabrizio Saccomanni addressed the seminar while Finance Ministry Director General Vittorio Grilli participated in the proceedings.

Today's discussion focused on proposals to adapt the IMF's surveillance policies to make them more effective; initiatives to strenghten IMF financial sector surveillance; and the proposed consideration of a new high-access financing instrument for crisis prevention. The fruitful exchange enabled participants to deepen their understanding of the IMF's objectives and goals within the context of medium-term reforms. The views expressed at this seminar and at other outreach events will guide the Fund in the implementation of the MTS.