Press Release No. 10/160

Press Release: IMF and South Korea to Co-Host Asia Regional Conference to Promote Cooperative Approach Toward Global Economic Challenges

April 19, 2010

The Government of the Republic of Korea and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today announced that the high-level international conference on Asia will take place at the Daejeon Convention Center on July 12-13, 2010. Daejeon city, located two hours from Incheon International Airport, is Korea’s science and technology hub. The theme of the conference is “Asia 21: Leading the Way Forward,” reflecting Asia’s economic dynamism and global leadership role in the 21^st century.

The conference will bring together more than 300 high-level participants, including finance ministers, central bank governors and other senior policymakers, as well as prominent financial and business leaders, market experts, academics, civil society representatives, and journalists.

The four key objectives of the conference are to:

• Articulate a shared vision and common agenda for Asia to support a strong global recovery, while drawing lessons from the past in a candid and constructive manner;

• Showcase Asia’s success in economic management and highlight lessons for other regions;

• Examine Asia’s economic growth model, its prospects going forward, and the implications for the global economy;

• Discuss the role of Asia in global policy formulation.

The conference program being developed jointly by the Korean authorities and the IMF will include discussion of issues such as Asia’s challenge in sustaining growth and maintaining its role as a global growth leader, financial sector challenges, including regional financial integration, and the importance of policies aimed at transforming today’s low-income countries in the region into tomorrow’s emerging markets.