Finance Minister Yuriko Backes attended the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC

Luxembourg Finance Minister Yuriko Backes traveled to Washington DC from April 20-23, 2022 to participate in the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. In a context dominated by the impacts of the war in Ukraine, this event provided an opportunity for international economic and budgetary policies coordination.

In the margins of the plenary meetings, Yuriko Backes had a working meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura. They had an exchange of views on the evolution of the geopolitical situation and its economic implications for Europe and more particularly Luxembourg. In view of the challenges linked not only to the war in Ukraine, but also to climate change, Yuriko Backes underlined Luxembourg's commitment to multilateralism and international solidarity. In this context, she reaffirmed Luxembourg's pledge to allocate 1% of its GNI to development aid. Finally, the Minister of Finance and the Director General agreed to enhanced collaboration on climate financing, the regulation of cryptocurrencies, as well as women empowerment.

Yuriko Backes also had bilateral meetings with Paul Hilbers, Executive Director of the IMF, Alfred Kammer, Director of the European Department of the IMF, as well as Hayrettin Demircan, Executive Director of the World Bank. They took stock of the work of these institutions in the context of the current crisis, as well as the important role that Luxembourg plays within them.

The Minister of Finance also took advantage of her trip to Washington for talks with counterparts. She met the Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, to express Luxembourg's solidarity with Ukraine and discuss the situation on the ground. She also had working meetings with Lawrence Wong, Minister of Finance of Singapore, and Ueli Maurer, Federal Minister of Finance of Switzerland, to discuss the macroeconomic situation, as well as bilateral relations and cooperation between financial centers.

Yuriko Backes also participated in a meeting, jointly organized by the COP26 presidency, the coalition of finance ministers for climate action, as well as representatives of the private sector, on mobilizing capital to finance the transition to a net-zero emissions economic system.

"The discussions I had during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank only reinforced my conviction that the international community must, more than ever, show solidarity and strengthen the cooperation within the multilateral fora. In addition, the war in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of energy security, and the need to accelerate the transition to renewable sources. Through its financial center, Luxembourg can contribute in a tangible way to financing these efforts at global level", said the Finance Minister.