Attendees take part in the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting at the Istanbul Congress Center October 4, 2009. The IMFC has 24 members who advise and report to the IMF Board of Governors. Finance ministers and central bankers from around the globe are in Istanbul for the semiannual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which run from Oct. 4-7. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

　  ISTANBUL, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 2009 annual meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) opened here Tuesday.

    "The global financial crisis has given us some lessons as well as experience. We have realized the problems that had never occurred to us before," said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the participants of the 2009 Annual Meeting of IMF and World Bank in Istanbul October 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Addressing the opening ceremony, he said "Policy makers in the world should ponder the root cause of the current crisis and take some actions."

    The prime minister also called on every country in the world to avoid decisions which run counter to the spirit of global cooperation, such as the trade protectionism.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn (L) and World Bank President Robert Zoellick chat after a news conference at the Istanbul Congress Center October 5, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the World Bank is pursuing an ambitious program of reform which would focus on importing development effectiveness, promoting accountability and good governance, and continuing to increase cost efficiency.

    As the world is changing quickly, he said "The old international economic order was struggling to keep up with change before the crisis. Today's upheaval has revealed the stark gaps and compelling needs. It is time we caught up and moved ahead."

World Bank President Robert Zoellick addresses the participants of the 2009 Annual Meeting of IMF and World Bank in Istanbul October 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    In his speech, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn expressed some optimism, saying that "The world is a different place. Fear has turned to hope."

    "We seem to have pulled back from the brink, and even if it is much too early to declare victory, we have at least stepped onto the road of recovery," he said.

    However, he warned that the global economy remains in a very precarious position. "Premature withdrawal of policy support could kill the recovery. For sure, policy-makers should design credible exit strategies, but it is too soon to implement them," he added.

International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn addresses the participants of the 2009 Annual Meeting of IMF and World Bank in Istanbul October 6, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    Among the issues to be discussed during the meetings are IMF and World Bank's global economic importance, global economic crisis, ways to overcome the crisis, restructuring of the global financial system and measures to be taken to overcome stagnation.

    Before the annual meetings, the IMF raised its 2010 growth forecast for the world economy to 3.1 percent from 2.5 percent, saying the global recession "is ending."

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Backgrounder: International Monetary Fund

Backgrounder: IMF/World Bank annual meetings

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis