INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND AND WORLD BANK GROUP  2004 Spring Meetings  APRIL 24–25, 2004    WASHINGTON, D.C.

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Overview of the Spring and Annual Meetings

SPRING MEETINGS  Each Spring, the joint Bank-IMF Development Committee and the IMF's International Monetary and Financial Committee hold meetings to discuss progress on the work of the Bank and Fund. Plenary sessions of the World Bank and IMF's Boards of Governors are only scheduled during the Annual Meetings in the autumn. ANNUAL MEETINGS  Each autumn, the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their Annual Meetings to discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance. The Annual Meetings provide a forum for international cooperation and enable the Bank and Fund to better serve their member countries. The Annual Meetings traditionally are held in Washington two years out of three and, in order to reflect the international character of the two institutions, every third year in a different member country. In addition to the meetings of the Boards of Governors, the Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee are officially convened. Around these meetings, the Bank and the IMF organize a number of fora to facilitate the interaction of governments and Bank-IMF staff with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), journalists, and the private sector. Indeed, every effort is made to ensure that the Annual Meetings provide an effective forum for explaining to the public - directly and through the media - the tasks, objectives, and outcomes of the work of the Bank and the IMF. In this manner, the Meetings make a major contribution to openness and transparency. About 10,000 people attend the meetings, including about 3,500 members of delegations from the member countries of the Bank and the IMF, roughly 1,000 representatives of the media, and more than 5,000 visitors and special guests drawn primarily from private business, the banking community and NGOs. In addition, Bank and IMF staff participate in the meetings with officials of government delegations.

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