ASEAN Secretary General, Surin Pitsuwan, has called on Asian countriesto jointly nominate a candidate for the post of managing director of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Now is the time for Asiato field a candidate and it doesn't have to be an Asian. They could be amember of a third world country – but not the European Union – andthey surely must not be a North American,” Surin said at the “Future ofAsia” conference in Tokyo .
Surin was quoted bythe Bangkok Post on May 27 as saying that Asia , as the leading engineof global economic growth, needed to voice opinions about the wayinternational institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF operatedand assert its claim to the position now.
"If we don't do anything we will be taken for a ride and next time we will be overlooked," he added.
Developing countries now represented about 42 percent of thecontributions to the IMF compared with the nearly 30 percent Europe andthe US each contributed, Surin said.
The same day, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said that the chief of theIMF should be chosen through democratic consultation with a merit-basedand transparent selection process.
The selection should alsoseek to increase the presence of emerging markets and better reflectchanges in the global economic layout, Jiang said.
On May 25, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde launched her bid to head the IMF./.
“Now is the time for Asiato field a candidate and it doesn't have to be an Asian. They could be amember of a third world country – but not the European Union – andthey surely must not be a North American,” Surin said at the “Future ofAsia” conference in Tokyo .
Surin was quoted bythe Bangkok Post on May 27 as saying that Asia , as the leading engineof global economic growth, needed to voice opinions about the wayinternational institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF operatedand assert its claim to the position now.
"If we don't do anything we will be taken for a ride and next time we will be overlooked," he added.
Developing countries now represented about 42 percent of thecontributions to the IMF compared with the nearly 30 percent Europe andthe US each contributed, Surin said.
The same day, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said that the chief of theIMF should be chosen through democratic consultation with a merit-basedand transparent selection process.
The selection should alsoseek to increase the presence of emerging markets and better reflectchanges in the global economic layout, Jiang said.
On May 25, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde launched her bid to head the IMF./.
