BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 9TH 2013 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and Minister and Minister of Finance, the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is in Washington, D.C. attending the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
Dr. Douglas, who represents the Federation as Governor, is accompanied by the Premier and Minister of Finance in the Nevis Island administration, the Hon. Vance Amory,; St. Kitts and Nevis Financial Secretary, Mrs. Hilary Hazel and the St. Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency, Mrs. Jacinth Henry-Martin.
The Board of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) normally meet once a year to discuss the work of their respective institutions.
The Annual Meetings, which generally take place in September-October, have customarily been held in Washington for two consecutive years and in another member country in the third year.
The Annual Meetings occur ahead of the meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the Development Committee, the Group of Twenty-Four, and various other groups of members.
At the conclusion of their meetings, the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Development Committee, as well as several other groups, issue communiqués. The Annual Meetings will include a day of plenary sessions, during which Governors take up matters of business and consult with one another.
At the Annual Meetings, the Boards of Governors make decisions on how current international monetary issues should be addressed and approve corresponding resolutions. The Annual Meetings are chaired by a Governor of the Bank and the Fund, with the chairmanship rotating among the membership each year. Every two years it elects Executive Directors. Each year any new members are welcomed into the Bank and Fund.
Because the Annual Meetings bring such a large number of member country officials together, they provide opportunities for consultations large and small, formal and informal. Numerous seminars are held in conjunction with the meetings, including seminars conducted by staff members for members of the press.
The Annual Meetings Program of Seminars is designed to foster creative dialogue among the private sector, government delegates and senior Bank and Fund officials. The Per Jacobsson Lecture on international finance, which is sponsored by a foundation set up in honour of the Fund’s third Managing Director, is also given each year in conjunction with the Meetings.