NEWS Release - April 22, 2017 - Transcript of IMFC Press Briefing
MR. RICE: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to this press conference on behalf of the IMFC. Delighted to have with us this afternoon the chairman of the IMFC, Mr. Augustin Carstens, and the Managing Director of the IMF, Madame Lagarde.
We are going to be short and sweet this afternoon, so please keep the questions succinct, and I'm going to ask the chairman to begin with some opening remarks, and then we will get straight to you.
CHAIRMAN CARSTENS: Thank you. Good afternoon. Let me start by thanking Madame Lagarde and the IMF staff for all their support in organizing the very fruitful meeting of the IMFC.
The technical documents prepared by the Fund have enriched our discussions which have focused on how we can collectively address the challenges faced by all countries in the context of changing global environment.
As you see from the IMFC communiqué, the membership's view is that the economic outlook is improving, although subject to downside risks. We have made a lot of progress in overcoming the crisis and achieve greater financial stability.
Now, our efforts should focus more on preserving the growth momentum and enhancing resilience. In other words, we are shifting from primarily focus on the financial sector to the real sector.
For this to happen, we agreed that we must work together and remain committed to a range of policy actions. The committee welcomed and endorsed theManaging Director's Global Policy Action (GPA) , and as outlined in the document, we stressed the importance of the three‑pronged approach of mutually reinforcing monetary, fiscal, and structural policies.
At the same time, we recognize that trade, financial integration, and technological progress have broad‑based benefits, including improving living standards, and lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty. However, the prolonged period of low growth has brought to the fore the concerns of those who have been left behind.
Now, as the communiqué states, I quote, "It is important to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from global economic integration and technological progress."
We also covered a range of IMF institutional issues. I won't go through all of them, but let me note that we stated our support for the Fund's efforts to provide a more rigorous and candid assessment of global excess imbalances and their causes, and exchange rates, both during Article IV consultations and in the External Sector Report (ESR).
We encouraged the IMF to explore options for further strengthening the financial safety net, including by collaborating with regional financial arrangements. To further enhance the effectiveness of the IMF's lending toolkit, we support its ongoing work to develop proposals for a possible new short‑term liquidity facility, and a non‑financial policy instrument to provide monitoring and signaling of member policies.
The membership also welcomed steps to maintain the lending capacity of the Fund, and stressed that they remain committed to strong, quota‑based and adequately resourced IMF, which is important for the global financial safety net.
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