Representatives of Eesti Pank and the Ministry of Finance will attend the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) and the Development Committee of the World Bank held in Washington on April 25-26. The main discussion topics of the meetings are reforming the global financial architecture; the IMF's lending policy and the impact of the financial crisis.

For Estonia the most relevant topics of the Spring Meetings include an overview of the global economy in conjunction with the Early Warning Exercise to be carried out for the first time, as well as the IMF's lending policy and increasing the role of developing countries in the IMF to meet their increasing share in the global economy.

The main issue of the World Bank's Development Committee meeting is the global financial crisis, its impact on developing countries and the role of international financial institutions in the crisis. Another main topic is increasing the representation and the voting rights of developing countries in the World Bank.

In the course of their visit, the Estonian delegation has meetings with Cristoph Rosenberg, the new head of the IMF's missions to Estonia, Eric Meyer, a senior official of the US Department of the Treasury, Marek Belka, the IMF's Director of the European Department, and several other officials.

Eesti Pank is represented by Deputy Governor Andres Sutt and Head of the International and Public Relations Department Tanel Ross. The Ministry of Finance is represented by Adviser to Ministry Märt Kivine and Head of the EU and International Relations Department Martin Põder.

Details of the meetings' press briefings and events are available on the web page of the IMF at www.imf.org/external/spring/2009/index.htm.

The IMFC is an advisory body of the IMF supervising the development of the international monetary and financial system. The IMFC meetings take place biannually and are attended by, in addition to the committee's own members, representatives from the IMF member countries and international organisations.

For further information:
Märt Kivine
Adviser to the Ministry of Finance
Telephone: +372 5038 223

Ingrid Mitt
Eesti Pank's Public Relations Office
Telephone: +372 6680 965, +372 5126 843
[email protected]