7 Oct 2014

English off to world finance meetings

2:24 pm on 7 October 2014

The Finance Minister Bill English will attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank governors in the United States later this week.

Bill English during the G20 meeting in Sydney in February.

Bill English Photo: AAP

Mr English, who leaves tomorrow, will also meet G20 finance ministers.

Australia, as host of the G20 summit this year, has invited New Zealand to attend a series of meetings as a guest alongside the G20 members.

Mr English said the meetings in Washington DC would provide further opportunities to assess the latest global economic developments and their likely impact on New Zealand.

He said New Zealand remained well placed compared with many other developed economies but the Government needed to be prepared to carefully manage global risks and challenges.

Mr English will meet Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey, Singapore Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and IMF deputy managing Director Min Zhu during his trip.

He will also hold regular meetings with representatives of the main credit rating agencies.

The IMF and World Bank governors meeting concludes on Saturday, and Mr English will return to New Zealand next Monday.

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