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from the global economic crisis at the annual meetings of the IMF
and World Bank here on Tuesday, with a plea to include the poor. With
emerging markets playing a leading role in the return to growth,
finance ministers and central bank governors from 186 hammered out a
strategy for sustainable growth and reform of the global financial
system at the heart of the crisis. International Monetary Fund chief
Dominique Strauss-Kahn called for global economic cooperation that
would build on efforts by the Group of 20 ( which have averted the
collapse of the world economy. "We seem to have pulled back from the
brink, and even if as we all know it is much too early to declare
victory, we have at least stepped onto the road of recovery," the IMF
managing director said. Strauss Kahn said that cooperation must
extend beyond the G20 emerging countries to the forum of the IMF,
urging the 186 opportunity to shape the post-crisis world." The
membership includes "low-income countries, home to billions who still
live in poverty, who remain economically marginalised. Their voices
too must be heard," he said. The finance chiefs were also to tackle
reform of the voting power in the two institutions to better reflect
the growing weight of the emerging market and developing countries in
the global economy. The delegates are to consider a shift of power
of at least 5.0 represented countries to under-represented countries
in the IMF, and a similar transfer of at least 3.0 "This will
enhance our legitimacy," Strauss- Kahn said. World Bank president
Robert Zoellick urged members to go beyond the reform already
supported to give developing countries at least 47 institution, and
raise it to 50 "The international system needs a World Bank Group
that represents the international economic realities of the 21
recognizes the role and responsibility of growing stakeholders, and
provides a larger voice for Africa." The IMF has given out tens of
billions of dollars (euros) of credit in recent months to prop up
faltering economies around the world and the World Bank has stepped
up its lending for 2009 Many are now looking to the Washington- based
sibling institutions to help bolster a tentative recovery and
mitigate the painful social effects of the crisis, including rising
unemployment and poverty. Some 13 meetings of finance ministers,
central bankers and academics from the member states. A major
protest against the institutions was also expected to be held on
Tuesday and extra police and security guards have been deployed
around Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city and commercial capital.
Conferences leading up to the meetings began last Thursday with a
Turkish journalist throwing a shoe at Strauss-Kahn in protest
against IMF policies. Reflecting economic fears, finance chiefs have
sounded a cautious note. "There are many risks out there. These
include growing unemployment lines, rising protectionism and
still-large output gaps," Zoellick said on the eve of the talks. "The
global economy could still suffer a setback, not least in 2010 plan
to withdraw much of their economic stimulus and debt rollovers could
be combined with a rise in interest rates," he said. Strauss-Kahn
said: "There is no way to say the crisis is over when we still have
this big rise in unemployment in front of us."
