Press Release No. 08/163

Press Release: IMF Shifts Focus to Key Global Economic and Financial Concerns -- IMF Work Program

July 7, 2008

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will focus its activities in the period ahead on key issues of global economic and financial concern, shifting the emphasis away from internal reforms toward the actions the Fund can take to help its members meet the challenges of the 21^st century, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in outlining the IMF's Work Program for the period ahead.

"It is time to turn the page. Our work on restructuring the Fund is now well advanced, but our work on refocusing the Fund is only beginning," Mr. Strauss-Kahn told the Executive Board during the discussion on June 18, 2008. "The principle guiding our work will continue to be responsiveness to our members' needs with a focus on the Fund's comparative advantage."

Mr. Strauss-Kahn said the Fund aims to make substantial progress over the next several months in four areas of priority:

First, to help members deal with imminent crises and urgent tasks. This includes:

• Helping the world economy respond to the challenges posed by rising food and fuel prices. The Work Program sets out how the Fund can make a contribution in this urgent area through its policy advice, financial support, and analytical work. A first broad assessment of the economic impact of the surge in food and fuel prices for a cross section of the membership was published last week.

• Drawing lessons from the financial market crisis. The Work Program emphasizes the importance of drawing lessons from the global financial market turmoil and the need to strengthen further the Fund's financial sector work at the country level.

• Advancing key surveillance issues. The Work Program points to how the Fund's core bilateral surveillance work can be strengthened; and how it can advance efforts on multilateral as well as regional surveillance, global spillovers and cross-country issues, and early warning systems.

A second priority is to take a fresh look at the IMF's lending instruments. The Work Program points to the need for the Fund to adapt some of its lending instruments and related policies, including access rules, so it can continue to provide a good option for countries facing volatile capital flows and limited access to private capital. A review of Fund lending instruments and related policies, including access, is proposed before the Annual Meetings in October.

A third priority is to put in place new organizational tools and working practices. This will include ensuring greater cohesiveness in the Fund's approach to low-income country work; more dedicated research and focus on macro-financial linkages; and possible new approaches across a range of the Fund's responsibilities and services including Article IV consultations and capacity building programs.

The fourth priority is to further advance the Fund's governance agenda. Building on the recent achievement to strengthen membership representation through quotas and voice improvements, the second stage of governance reform will now proceed. The Work Program indicates that the recent review by the Fund's Independent Evaluation Office of governance arrangements provides a useful starting point for this effort.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn emphasized that the IMF's Work Program is focused on "the actions that the Fund will take to help our members meet global challenges. We aim to make substantial progress over the next few months but, in a number of areas, the work will continue beyond the Annual Meetings."