Credit: IMF

Following his visits to Boston and New York, Luxembourg's Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna travelled to Washington to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 October 2019.

These annual meetings are an opportunity to bring together diverse stakeholders, from politicians, representatives of central banks and ministries of finance and development to the private sector and civil society, around the key issues of the world economy.

The October 2019 annual meetings were held against the background of escalating trade disputes, persistent uncertainty and unfavourable geopolitical developments that have tangible repercussions on confidence, investment and growth. The analyses of IMF economists also confirmed the table drawn up by Pierre Gramegna at the presentation of the Budget 2020 to the Luxembourg Parliament on 14 October 2019.

Special focus was also given to the work of the IMF and the World Bank on climate. In this regard, the IMF is working on avenues for climate change mitigation through efficient energy pricing and the transition to a greener economy, as well as a strategy to more systematically integrate climate issues into the monitoring of financial markets. In this regard, Pierre Gramegna also participated in the meeting of the "Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action" of which Luxembourg was a founding member.

Minister Gramegna commented: "The Annual Meetings are a good time to discuss the current challenges for the global economy and the international financial system at the highest level. I am pleased that topics related to climate change and sustainable finance are now an integral part of these discussions. Through its financial centre, Luxembourg has an important role to play in tackling these global challenges and developing innovative solutions for sustainable finance".

On the sidelines of these official meetings, Pierre Gramegna had bilateral interviews with Anthony De Lannoy, Executive Director of the IMF, and Suma Chakrabarti, President of the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), to discuss the news of the respective institutions, as well as recent developments in the global economy. He also met with Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank, to take stock of the organisation of the Sukuk Summit, which will take place in Luxembourg on 11 November 2019.

Minister Gramegna also participated in a dinner offered by the new Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, which brought together the finance ministers of the main members of the euro area to discuss economic and financial affairs. He also took part in a dinner organised by the Banque de Caisse d'Epargne de l'Etat (BCEE or Spuerkeess) for the leaders of some of their institutional partners in Washington. This event was also an opportunity for BCEE to officially announce its membership of the United Nations "Principles for Responsible Banking".