Finance Minister Yuriko Backes at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank

Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes attended the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Washington, D.C. The main topics discussed included debt in developing countries, slow growth, inflation trends, financial stability and international cooperation.

They were also addressed during an event with the presidents of the main multilateral development banks at the Embassy of Luxembourg in Washington. A second reception, co-organized with the Spanish Minister of Finance, Nadia Calviño, brought together women ministers of finance and heads of international organizations at the Embassy and was dedicated to the promotion of gender equality.

Yuriko Backes stressed: "The challenges the world is facing in terms of energy, food and climate, as well as inflation, are still relevant. We must avoid the fragmentation of our globalized economies. Therefore, the international community must show solidarity and further strengthen cooperation at all levels. In this spirit, Luxembourg firmly reiterates its commitment to the multilateral system. "

On the initiative of the Swedish EU Presidency, the European Finance Ministers met with the US nominee for the Presidency of the World Bank, Ajay Banga. Yuriko Backes encouraged the new leader to make further progress on gender equality and private sector engagement. She also stressed that the fight against climate change should be of utmost priority.

In a meeting with IMF Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath, a new partnership agreement between the IMF and Luxembourg was signed, which will commit 9 million euros to support the IMF's technical assistance trust funds.

Together with Alfred Kammer, Director of the IMF's European Department, the Minister discussed the main findings of the Article IV mission, as well as economic developments in the European Union and the euro area. Yuriko Backes focused primarily on domestic measures to address the cost of living crisis.

Another topic of discussion during the exchanges with the IMF representatives was the evaluation of Luxembourg in the framework of the Financial Sector Assessment Program. In a meeting with Tobias Adrian, Director of the IMF's Money and Financial Markets Department, the Minister of Finance stressed the importance Luxembourg attaches to this exercise, which will provide a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the resilience of the Luxembourg financial sector.

Yuriko Backes discussed gender issues both with IMF's new Senior Gender Advisor, Rishi Goyal as well as with UN Women's Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia.

Together with the Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Ramit Nagpal, the Minister of Finance launched a new e-learning tool "Countering Trade-Based Money Laundering", which benefits from a financial contribution from Luxembourg. Since 2022, the Ministry of Finance has contributed more than one million euros to the implementation of this tool. This launch once again demonstrates the commitment of the Grand Duchy, as a major financial center, in the ongoing fight against money laundering at the global level.

Finally, the Minister took advantage of her trip to Washington for bilateral meetings with some of her counterparts, including Ministers Arkhom Termpittayapaisith of the Kingdom of Thailand, Dr. Olavo Avelino Garcia Correia of Cape Verde, and Grant Robertson of New Zealand.