Mumbai:
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, has taken over as managing
director of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn,
58, who will take over from the Rodrigo Rato, is expected to pursue reforms of
IMF whose makeup still reflects the global economic order following World War
II, with the United States and Europe as the dominant powers. The
IMF is under pressure to give emerging economies like China a bigger say in the
global financial institution. The
biggest challenge he faces is finding agreement among the 185-member countries
by a 2008 deadline on how to boost the voting power of under-represented emerging
powers. He will be hard put to persuade European countries to relinquish some
voting power. With
China and India driving the world''s economic expansion and concern increasing
about the growth prospects in the United States and Europe, developing countries
are demanding a greater stake in the institution that overseas global financial
stability. While
the United States is holding on to its veto power over decisions in the IMF, it
has said it will not seek an increase in its voting power. But countries like
France and Britain are nervous that an adjustment in the IMF`s votes could push
them below China, whose rapidly growing economy is now the fourth largest in the
world behind the United States, Japan and Germany.
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