IMF Chief Georgieva Says 'Available To Serve' For Second Term

The managing director of the International Monetary Fund has told AFP she is making herself "available to serve" for a second five-year term running the Washington-based financial institution, shortly after she received the backing of European finance ministers.

"I'm not running to force people to choose me, I'm making myself available to serve, if people want me to serve," IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said in a video call interview ahead of a speech in the UK city of Cambridge on Thursday.

"I would bring to the job a determination for the Fund to be an institution that leans forward in addressing the most challenging problems we face," she said.

These challenges include boosting productivity and growth, "so more people have a better chance," tackling elevated post-pandemic debt levels, and making the IMF "more inclusive and more representative, so it can enjoy the trust of our members and people," she added.

The IMF officially launched the selection process to find its next leader on Wednesday, a day after European Union (EU) finance ministers threw their support behind Georgieva.

EU support could prove crucial for Georgieva, as a European has managed the Fund since its founding in 1944 due to a controversial, unofficial, agreement under which a European citizen has historically run the IMF, and an American has led the World Bank.

Given the outsized influence that Europe wields over the nomination process, the EU announcement sharply reduces the likelihood of success for other individuals whose names have been linked to the role, such as Paschal Donohoe, Ireland's minister for public expenditure.

The IMF has said it wants the process wrapped up by the end of April, well ahead of the end of Georgieva's current mandate on September 30, 2024._AFP