|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
      
|
Ottawa, September 8, 1998
1998-088
Commonwealth Finance Ministers to Seek Common Position Ahead of IMF and World Bank Meetings - East Asian Crisis, Corruption and Debt Relief are Main Talking Points
Related documents:
Commonwealth Finance Ministers will meet in Ottawa, Canada, on Wednesday September 30 and Thursday October 1, in preparation for the joint annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC the following week. Their discussions will focus on three topics: the implications of the East Asian financial crisis and proposals for protecting countries against the destabilising effects of volatile capital flows; international and Commonwealth action to strengthen good governance and eliminate corruption in economic management; and progress in implementing multilateral debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries.
East Asian financial crisis
The meeting will consider proposals for crisis prevention and management made in a report by a group of Commonwealth experts that was established last year by Finance Ministers and Heads of Government to consider ways and means of protecting countries from volatile, international capital flows. Following on from its analysis of the causes of the East Asian crisis, the 10-person Group, comprising central bankers, academics and market practitioners, has distilled important lessons, especially for other emerging markets. The Group has recommended specific national and international measures to protect countries against capital volatility as well as manage such crises more effectively, should they occur in the future. In this regard, Finance Ministers are expected to discuss:
-
specific measures of protection to soften the impact of abrupt capital movements on developing countries;
-
improved monitoring of private markets, international regulation of short-term capital flows and more equitable burden-sharing between private lenders and recipient countries in crisis resolution;
-
means to help strengthen financial systems, including Canada's initiative to strengthen global financial sector regulation and supervision;
-
a larger and better co-ordinated role for international financial institutions, particularly the IMF, the World Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, and other international organisations, in the prevention and management of financial crises, taking fuller account of the nature of each crisis, in particular the social impact of financial crises and its implication for policy choices; and
-
a need for a more broad-based discussion of the new international financial architecture so as to better manage the process of globalisation.
Good Governance and Corruption
The Finance Ministers will consider how the Commonwealth can help to promote good governance and eliminate corruption in economic management through enhanced transparency, accountability and the application of the rule of law. They will discuss an interim report from another Commonwealth Expert Group established for this purpose last year, also at the request of Finance Ministers and Heads of Government. Emphasising the importance of attaining "zero tolerance" for corruption, nationally and internationally, the Group believes the Commonwealth should consider whether it should have its own convention, codes of conduct, or other mutual co-operation arrangements to combat corruption.
Its interim proposals for action include: Commonwealth technical assistance for countries that wish to design their own national strategies to improve governance and combat corruption; the compilation and dissemination of information on good practice in Commonwealth countries; and consideration of the possibility of designing a global compact - which addresses both national and international issues - to fight corruption. The Group also calls on the Commonwealth to encourage and support the further development of other international initiatives such as the OECD's Convention on bribery. Its report will be finalised later this year after taking into account the discussions in Ottawa and will be presented to the 1999 meetings of Commonwealth Finance Ministers, Law Ministers and finally Heads of Government when they meet in South Africa.
Multilateral debt relief
Commonwealth Finance Ministers will review the implementation of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, launched two years ago by the IMF and World Bank. The Initiative has been criticised by some for the slowness of implementation and the eventual impact on the debt burdens of the 41 countries eligible for relief. Last year when they met in Mauritius, Commonwealth Ministers agreed on the ‘Mauritius Mandate', a key element of which was to ensure that all countries eligible under the HIPC Initiative embarked on the process by the year 2000.
In Ottawa, the Ministers are expected to call for greater flexibility in the HIPC Initiative to increase the range of exceptional cases on their own merits. This would apply particularly to countries that are afflicted or recovering from conflicts such as Angola, Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.
Finance Ministers will also review whether there is adequate financing for eligible countries to achieve debt sustainability as envisaged by the HIPC Initiative and ensure that debt relief does not lead to diversion of concessional resources from non-HIPC low income countries.
Other issues
The Ottawa meeting will also discuss the conclusions of a joint meeting earlier this year of Commonwealth Senior Finance and Law Officials, which called for further concerted actions against the continuing threat of money laundering in four key areas: guidelines to improve national co-ordination of anti-money laundering measures, especially in the financial and legal sectors; identifying and resolving the special problems of dealing with money laundering in countries where there are ‘parallel' or ‘underground' economies; strengthening regional initiatives for more effective implementation of anti-money laundering measures, including the establishment of anti-money laundering groups in sub-Saharan Africa; and wider participation in self-evaluation exercises in implementing the OECD Financial Action Task Force's 40 recommendations. Finance Ministers are expected to endorse the creation of a technical working group to further examine ways of dealing with the problems posed by ‘underground' economies.
Ministers will also review progress in implementing the Commonwealth Private Investment Initiative (CPII) and launch a new fund of around US$10-15 million for the Caribbean region. Since 1996, when the CPII was launched, three funds have already been set up for Africa, the Pacific islands and South Asia. The CPII seeks to channel long-term commercial investments into expanding privatised or privatising companies, new ventures and small- or medium-sized private sector enterprises in Commonwealth countries outside the interests of international capital markets. The Ottawa meeting will also adopt a Commonwealth Code of Good Practice designed to help member countries attract and sustain inflows of private capital.
Press conference in Washington DC
A representative group of Commonwealth Finance Ministers will hold a press conference in Washington DC, on 3 October at 9.30 a.m. in IMF Meeting Room B-702 (Blue Level), prior to the Interim and Development Committee meetings of the IMF and World Bank, to publicise the outcomes of their discussions in Ottawa as well as any initiatives they intend to pursue at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.
___________________
For further information:
Public Affairs and Operations Division
(613) 992-1574
|
|
||||
| Last Updated: 2004-07-15 |
|
||||
