Putin, Lagarde to discuss acceleration of int'l financial institution reforms
MOSCOW. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde will discuss the global economic situation and reforms to the IMF's management on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Vladivostok.
"The first meeting of the Russian president with Managing Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde will be held on the sidelines of the APEC summit," Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told journalists.
Putin and Lagarde will meet on September 9 during a protocol event - a working breakfast of the APEC country leaders, where the IMF chief will present a report and lay out her evaluation of the global economic situation.
"Surely not just the Asian economy will be touched upon, but everything to do with other regions, particularly Europe," Ushakov said.
He added that "for the APEC economic forum, the presence of the head of one of the key international financial organizations at the summit is extremely important. There is high demand for the IMF's resource potential in the region."
For Russia, contacts with the IMF are also valuable in view of Russia's chairmanship of the G20 next year, he said.
During the upcoming meeting, Putin and Lagarde will compare notes on the persisting instability of the situation in global economics and finance, Ushakov said.
"Even the fastest growing markets in the region are feeling the negative consequences of the turbulence. On this backdrop, the situation in Russia doesn't look so bad. As a result of preventive anti-crisis measures, it has managed to maintain a positive dynamic - for the first seven months of this year, the Russian economy grew by 4.2%, and industrial output grew by 3.2%," he said.
Experts have calculated that if the recession in the European Union is of a 'soft' nature, Russia's GDP will grow 3.5% this year and 3.7% in 2013.
"Another topic for discussion is the acceleration of reforms at international financial institutions. The issue of expanding the IMF's resources is of particular significance. Fundamental decisions were made in that regard at the G20 summit in Los Cabos. In terms of replenishing the resource base, more has been accomplished so far than planned - instead of $430 billion, the G20 has come up with $456 billion," Ushakov said.
Reforms to the IMF's management will also be addressed during the negotiations, he said.
"The role of dynamically developing economies needs to be enhanced, which will work in favor of the IMF itself. It will raise its legitimacy and allow for prompt responses to crisis events in the global economy. This topic will be included among Russia's priorities in the period of its chairmanship of the G20 in 2013," Ushakov said.