OREANDA-NEWS. April 24, 2013. Eesti Pank and the Ministry of Finance will attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Development Committee of the World Bank in Washington. The main subjects of the meetings will be the outlook and risks for the global economy and the strategic goals of the IMF and the World Bank for the next half year.

The IMF meeting will mainly focus on the outlook and risks for the global economy and financial markets and on the next steps for economic policy. The euro area has taken a number of policy decisions that have reassured the markets but states now need to use public finances decisively to strengthen the financial sector and to create a new base for economic growth. As Estonia's experience of the crisis showed, the rapid implementation of reforms can be complicated and politically fraught, but immediate action can equally help to prevent exhaustion with the constant whirl of changes and to reduce the economic costs of long-term insecurity.

The general directions for development will be discussed at the World Bank meeting, together with the future targets and mission of the World Bank Group.

Estonia will be represented at the spring meeting by the Deputy Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Muller, and the Deputy Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance Martin Poder, together with experts from Eesti Pank and the ministry.

They will meet with Alexander Hoffmaister, head of the IMF mission to Estonia, Reza Moghadam, Director of the European Department, and representatives of the US Treasury Department and the World Bank. The meetings will discuss the world, European and Estonian economies and how economic growth, financial stability and fiscal sustainability can be supported.

The meetings of the IMF and the World Bank are held twice a year and bring together high-level delegations from all the countries of the world to discuss key economic questions and coordinate economic policy.

For the schedule of the spring meetings, see the IMF website: http://www.imf.org/external/spring/2013/