Mukherjee embarks on US visit to take part in IMF, World Bank meet

New Delhi, Apr 16 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will undertake a four-day official visit to the USA on Wednesday to attend the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Funds (IMF).

Mukherjee would also attend G-20 Finance Ministers' and BRICS Finance Ministers' meetings.

He will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from USA, South Korea, Iran and the UK on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF meetings.

On April 19, Mukherjee will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Timothy Geithner. Later on the same day, he will hold talks with South Korean Minister for Finance and Strategy Bahk Jae-wan.

On the afternoon of the same day, Mukherjee will attend the BRICS Finance Ministers' (FMs') and Central Bank Governors' (CBGs') Meeting. Issues relating to the setting up of the working-cum- experts group for BRICS Bank, Transfer Pricing and Tax Avoidance and so on are likely to be discussed at the BRICS Meeting.

After that, Mukherjee will chair the G-24 Finance Ministers' meeting, as he is currently heading the G-24 Finance Ministers' Forum. Later, he will speak on "Global Economy and Framework" in the first session of G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting. India and Canada are currently co-chairing the working group on global framework.

On April 20, Mukherjee will attend the Second Session of G-20 FMs' and CBGs' Meeting on "Financial Regulation and Financial Inclusion". Thereafter, he will intervene and speak in the Third Session of G-20 FMs' and CBGs' Meeting on "Energy, Commodities and Other Issues, including Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management".

Later, Mukherjee will participate in G-20 and IMFC Combined Session on "Strengthening of the IFA". This session is likely to be dominated by the issue of Augmenting of IMF Resources, especially to tackle the European Union Crisis.

In the afternoon, he will meet UK Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell. Thereafter, he will visit the Peterson Institute for International Economics on the same day. There Mukherjee will deliver a special address on "India and the World-Short and Medium Term Prospects".

He will also participate in the interactive session jointly organised by the Peterson Institute and Confederation Of Indian Industry (CII) on this occasion. In the evening, he will attend the ministerial meeting of financial action task force (FATF), which will be chaired by the Italian Prime Minister.

This will be for the first time that a ministerial-level meeting would be attended by the Indian Finance Minister after India became FATF's 34th member last year. Later, he will attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao.

On April 21, Mukherjee will attend the IMFC Plenary Meeting. Later, he will attend Development Committee Plenary Meeting of the World Bank.

In the evening, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Iran's Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance Seyed Shamseddin.

On April 22, Mukherjee will address a press conference before flying to New York on his way back home. He is slated to return to the capital on April 23. (ANI)