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I first want to welcome Rodrigo de Rato and Jim Wolfensohn, and to express
my sincere gratitude for your friendship, leadership and advice. This
is the second year in a row that the heads of the IMF and the World
Bank have travelled to Geneva to attend a °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ meeting on Coherence.
Your presence sends a powerful message, not just about the importance
of coherence among our institutions, but about your commitment to the
multilateral trading system and the success of the Doha negotiations.
I think we can all agree that these negotiations are one of the most
important issues on the global economic agenda. As was emphasised at
the recent Bank/Fund Annual Meetings, the current economic recovery is
broad but fragile. We have a window of opportunity to deepen
structural reforms, strengthen global markets, and ensure that the
current expansion is sustainable. Nothing would contribute more to its
sustainability than further opening world markets and strengthening
trade rules under the Doha Round.
The outlook for the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ has changed significantly since the summer.
The July General Council Decision has put the Doha negotiations back
on track, and eased many of the concerns we felt in the aftermath of
Cancún. It represents an important step forward in the Round — and has
injected new momentum into the Geneva process — but it is not an end
in itself. This Round will be judged, not by what we say today, but by
what we achieve at the end of the negotiations. Success — as the IMFC
communiqué reminds us – “will require the full commitment of all
parties, in particular strong leadership from the major trading
nations, and readiness of all countries to embrace the opportunities
provided by more open trade”.
Cooperation among the three major international economic institutions
has never been more critical. At the last Coherence meeting, Members
encouraged us to focus our cooperation on three areas in particular —
policy analysis and advice, technical assistance, and adjustment
assistance. Let me highlight three concrete areas where progress is
being made — the details of which can be found in the background
document for this meeting.
First, the Trade Integration Mechanism. Last May, Anne Krueger briefed
us on this new IMF policy, and explained that financial assistance
would be available to low income developing countries to help them
cope with adjustment difficulties arising from loss of trade
preferences in the Doha Round, as well as from the elimination of
textile quotas at the start of next year. The task now is for the
Secretariat to continue working closely with IMF staff to help °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ
Members to evaluate the opportunities presented by the Trade
Integration Mechanism.
Second, the Cotton Initiative. The July Decision explicitly calls on
the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ to work closely with the IMF, the World Bank, and other
international financial institutions on development aspects of the
Sectoral Cotton Initiative. Let me use this opportunity to ask my
friends, Rodrigo and Jim, to redouble their efforts to see how
existing programmes — as well as additional resources — can be
directed towards development in those economies where cotton is
vitally important, as we agreed in Cotonou.
Third, Trade Facilitation. The July Decision also invites the IMF and
the World Bank to cooperate with the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ to make technical assistance
and capacity building more effective and operational in support of the
negotiations on trade facilitation, which were launched this summer.
The World Bank, in particular, has done excellent work in examining
the costs of excessive red-tape for developing countries trying to
encourage trade and investment — and I think this is an area where
there is huge potential for synergies among our institutions.
I have mentioned three areas where the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ is looking for — and
receiving — tangible support from the Bank and the Fund. Let me also
draw your attention to an area where the IMF and the World Bank are
looking for support from the General Council. A positive response by
the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ to requests for observer status in the TNC and its subsidiary
bodies would give the IMF and the World Bank first-hand information on
where their contribution to the success of the Doha negotiations can
most usefully be made. Already they contribute actively to the work of
many councils, committees and working groups of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ. Extending
their observer status to the TNC would be a logical step — and would
certainly add to the level of coherence of our work, in particular to
lend full support to the DDA.
I want to conclude with the observation that these General Council
Meetings on Coherence are obviously increasingly important — as
underscored by the presence of Rodrigo de Rato and Jim Wolfensohn
today. But there is also growing value in having on-going work on
Coherence at the technical level in the Working Group on Trade, Debt
and Finance. Two Coherence issues — trade financing and exchange rate
volatility — have already been usefully taken up at a technical level
in the Group. I also note that Coherence is on the agenda for the
Group's December meeting. As we begin today's discussions, I encourage
Members to think about how we can build further on this progress.
Thank you.
![](/images/img_dg/gc_22oct04.jpg)
IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato, World Bank President James D.
Wolfensohn and °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi listen to the
General Council debate on coherence in global economic policy-making.