IMF Governors family photo;
Credit: IMF
HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke and the Finance Minister, Pierre Gramegna, travelled to Washington DC from 13 to 14 October 2017 to participate in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Global growth has improved over the past year, with the recovery of investment and trade and the recovery of commodity prices, as well as a favourable global financial environment. For example, the IMF estimates that global growth should reach 3.6% in 2017 and continue to grow favourably in 2018. Nevertheless, participants at the Assemblies also raised the possibility of a darkening of the global outlook, political uncertainties and a resurgence of protectionist tendencies, international terrorism and climate change. Discussions also focused on the implications of the digital revolution and the development of Fintech, as well as on opportunities related to sustainable finance.
On the sidelines of the meetings, HRH the Hereditary Grand Duke (Prince Guillaume) and Minister Gramegna met with Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, and Frans Godts, Executive Director of the World Bank, and Anthony of Lannoy, Executive Director of the IMF, to discuss the development of the activities of these two institutions.
Minister Gramega also held bilateral talks with Marcello Estevão, Brazil's Deputy Minister of Finance, and Bakhyt Sultanov, Kazakhstan's Minister of Finance, to discuss bilateral relations. He also had a working meeting with Robert Leckow, Deputy Director of the Legal Department of the IMF, in charge of Fintech-related issues. They discussed, inter alia, the possibilities of strengthening international cooperation at the regulatory level, taking into account the global dimension of Fintech.
