Minister McGrath represents Ireland at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group

The Minister for Finance Michael McGrath is in Washington this week (10-12 April) to represent Ireland at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

During the course of the Spring Meetings, Minister McGrath will participate in a range of high-level meetings. These include the IMF Managing Director’s meeting with European policymakers where discussions will focus on addressing the many complex challenges currently facing the world economy, including high inflation, rising debt levels and global fragmentation. Minister McGrath will also hold bilateral meetings with the Managing Director of the IMF Kristalina Georgieva and the Senior Managing Director of the World Bank Axel van Trotsenburg. The Minister will also hold a bilateral meeting with the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt.

On Wednesday, the Minister will participate in the third Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support for Ukraine, co-chaired by the Government of Ukraine, the World Bank and the IMF. This meeting will consider Ukraine’s medium-term financing needs and key recovery and reconstruction projects.

The Minister’s visit to Washington provides a valuable opportunity for engagements with Irish representatives and senior management in both the IMF and the World Bank. During the course of the visit, Minister McGrath will announce Ireland’s grant contribution to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. The level of this contribution is in line with that suggested by the IMF on the basis of fair burden-sharing contributions by richer countries to support low-income countries in the Fund.

Speaking at the Spring Meetings today, Minister McGrath commented:

“As Minister for Finance and Ireland’s Governor at both the IMF and World Bank, I am delighted to participate in this year’s Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. While here, I will announce a new grant contribution to the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust which provides vital concessional finance for the Fund’s poorest and most vulnerable member countries.

"During my visit, I look forward to a series of constructive engagements with colleagues from both the IMF and World Bank on how best to address the economic challenges we face as we continue to deal with the ongoing impacts of the war in Ukraine, elevated inflation and recent financial sector turbulence.

"This year’s Spring Meetings provide a timely opportunity for economic and financial leaders from across the world to demonstrate the value of multilateralism by exchanging experiences on effective policy-making to meet our shared global goals.”