Switzerland to attend IMF and World Bank 2015 Spring Meetings in Washington
Bern, 16.04.2015 - Federal Councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf as Head of the Swiss delegation, Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann and Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, will attend the joint Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington D.C. from 17 to 18 April 2015. Important topics will be the global economic situation and development financing, as well as the consequences of low oil prices for both developing countries and advanced economies.
The International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF will focus on the global economic environment. The IMF anticipates continued moderate global economic growth of around 3.5%. The outlook for the large economies remains mixed and has shifted slightly: advanced economies are likely to grow somewhat more strongly and the emerging market economies somewhat less strongly. The debt levels of many advanced economies remain high, whereas inflation should generally remain low. In recent months, exchange rates and commodity prices have moved quickly and strongly, and the monetary policies of the big currency areas are increasingly diverging.
In this environment, the risks remain huge. While the persistently low oil prices could produce a welcome surge in growth, the big challenges remain monetary policy normalisation and stimulation of global economic growth. Against this backdrop, the IMF is calling for comprehensive reforms to boost growth and potential growth: structural reforms, easier monetary and fiscal policy as well as consistent implementation of financial sector reforms. The geopolitical risks remain unchanged.
Switzerland will emphasise that budgetary discipline and structural reforms that promote growth are key to overcome weak growth. At the same time, it will stress that a persistently expansive monetary policy should not alleviate the pressure for urgently required reforms, particularly in the structural field, which increasingly benefit undesirable developments on the financial markets.
The Development Committee will focus on the role of international financing organisations (IFIs) in drawing up the new global development goals and their financing with regard to the third International Conference on Financing for Development in July 2015 in Addis Ababa. The new so-called sustainable development goals (SDGs) should cover economic, social and environmental aspects. Due to their independence and their global presence, Switzerland will advocate for IFIs to provide support in an advisory capacity and in terms of content for the implementation of the SDGs, to promote intergovernmental dialogue and provide innovative solutions for global challenges at the national and international levels.
The Development Committee will also address the impact of falling energy prices on oil-importing and oil-exporting countries. The price of oil has dropped by roughly half since the 2014 Spring Meetings. The lower oil-price environment should be used to initiate structural reforms. Switzerland is also underpinning the efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels by participating in the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidies Reform. This group will organise an event during the Spring Meetings at which an appeal to swiftly implement reforms is to be launched.
While in Washington, Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann will launch Switzerland's involvement in a new World Bank programme to strengthen local capital markets. Switzerland will make CHF 15 million available in the context of the economic cooperation and development of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The programme is geared to around a dozen countries, in particular the SECO priority countries. Switzerland is thereby providing targeted support for international efforts to advance local mobilisation of financial resources in developing countries.
Address for enquiries
Mario Tuor, Head of Communications, State Secretariat for International Financial Matters,
tel. +41 58 462 46 16, mario.tuor@sif.admin.ch
Nicole Müller, Communications, Economic Cooperation and Development, State Secretariat for Economic Affairs,
tel. +41 58 464 09 10, nicole.mueller@seco.admin.ch
Olivier Bürki, Head of the Global Institutions Division, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation,
tel. +41 58 462 86 09, olivier.burki@eda.admin.ch
Publisher
The Federal Council
https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start.html
Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
http://www.seco.admin.ch
Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html
