| IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings Open |
The plenary session of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)and the World Bank annual meetings kicked off in Singapore on Tuesday.
More than 20,000 participants from 184 members attended the meetings. Issues to be addressed at the meetings are the voting rights reform of the IMF and the governance and anti-corruption strategy.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at the opening ceremony that good governance is key to help economies open up in the age of globalization and make life better for the population.
"Overall, globalization represents the best hope to improve the lives of the world's population. It has created growth and wealth, and fostered trade and interdependence," Lee said.
"Globalization is not without its downsides, but properly managed, it is a powerful force for the good. It must be part of the solution; it need not be part of the problem. With good governance and effective multilateral institutions, all countries can contain the risks and benefit from open markets and competition," he added.
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato announced at the opening ceremony that the Governors have voted overwhelmingly in support of a resolution on reform of quotas and voice in the IMF.
Rato said that these reforms are the first step in a process that will increase the representation of many emerging market countries to reflect their increased weight in the global economy.
"Right away, they will increase the voting power of four countries, China, (South) Korea, Mexico, and Turkey, that are most clearly underrepresented," said Rato.
"Equally important, Governors have agreed that we must strengthen the voice and representation of low-income countries that continue to borrow from the Fund but have only a limited share in Fund voting."
Calling the governance reforms "tremendously important" for the future of the IMF, Rato said that they will enhance IMF's effectiveness and add legitimacy to all of the other reforms that it is implementing.
Rato said that the year 2007 will be another year of solid and broad-based growth for the world economy, but warned risks of high oil price, global imbalance and protectionism.
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