Friday November 6, 12:14 PM
IMF chief to travel to Singapore, China this month
International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn will visit Asia this month and meet with Chinese officials to discuss the global economic recovery, an IMF official said.
"This is an important trip," Caroline Atkinson, director of external relations, said at a news conference.
The IMF managing director will arrive first in Singapore, where he will participate in the 16th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Finance Ministers' Meeting, and meet with the Singaporean authorities on November 12.
The following day, Strauss-Kahn is to deliver the 2009 Monetary Authority of Singapore lecture on "the role of Asia in reshaping the global economy," Atkinson said.
Strauss-Kahn and Singapore's Minister of Finance, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will also co-chair a round-table discussion with Asian policymakers on the economic policy challenges faced by the region.
Strauss-Kahn will visit China on November 16-17.
He will meet in Beijing with Chinese authorities to discuss "the international policy response to the crisis and prospects going forward and the role of Asia," Atkinson said.
While in the Chinese capital, Strauss-Kahn also is to meet with the faculty and students of the University of Beijing and participate in the International Finance Forum, she added.
The annual IFF forum, sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese government, is scheduled November 14-16.
Strauss-Kahn's trip coincides with US President Barack Obama's debut Asia tour.
According to the White House, Obama will visit Tokyo November 12-13, then Singapore on November 13-15 for APEC and ASEAN talks and one-on-one talks with regional leaders.
Obama's visit to China between November 15 and 18 will include his first visits as president to Beijing and the booming metropolis of Shanghai and a third set of talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
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