ISTANBUL TO HOST IMF-WORLD BANK ANNUAL MEETING

The annual gathering, which is one of the major meetings on economy, will take place in Istanbul on October 6-7, 2009.
IMF and World Bank's global economic importance, global economic crisis, ways to overcome the crisis, restructuring of the global financial system and measures to be taken to overcome stagnation are some of the issues to be discussed during the meeting, officials said.
The annual meeting, which will begin with preparatory meetings on September 28, will host nearly 15,000 participants from 185 countries.
IMF and World Bank executives, officials from international public organizations and NGOs, private sector representatives and academicians are expected to attend the gathering.
Below is a schedule of events that will take place within the framework of the annual meeting:
Officials will hold a press briefing on the annual meeting in Istanbul on September 30.
The "World Economic Outlook" report will be made public on October 1 while World Bank President Robert Zoellick and IMF Managing-Director Dominique Strauss-Khan will hold a joint press conference on October 2.
A series of seminars are scheduled to be held on October 3-4.
International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) is expected to discuss the impact of global economic crisis on developing countries on October 4 while the Development Committee (DC) will convene on October 5.
The opening and closing sessions of the annual meeting will take place on October 6-7.

-ANNUAL MEETINGS-
The Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group each year bring together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness. 
The meetings, which are widely covered by the international media, also offer an opportunity for civil society organizations to share their views and interact with policymakers in a global setting.
The annual meetings are usually held for two consecutive years at the IMF and World Bank HQ in Washington, D.C. and every third year in another member country. The last three meetings abroad were held in Singapore (2006), Dubai (2003) and Prague (2000). 
This year's meetings will be the second time that Turkey will host the annual meetings (the first time was in 1955, also in Istanbul), making Turkey the only country to host the gathering twice.