ISTANBUL, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank begin their annual meetings on Tuesday in the Turkish city of Istanbul to discuss key economic and financial issues on recovery from the worst global recession since the 1930s.
The following is a brief introduction to the IMF:
The IMF was established by an international treaty in 1945 to help promote the health of the world economy. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it is governed by its almost global membership of 186 members.
The IMF's statutory purposes include promoting the balanced expansion of world trade, the stability of exchange rates, the avoidance of competitive currency devaluations, and the orderly correction of a member's balance of payments problems.
Under the current international financial crisis, the IMF is working hard to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.
The day-to-day work of the IMF is carried out by its Executive Board, representing the IMF's 186 members, and an internationally recruited staff under the leadership of Managing Director and three Deputy Managing Directors.
The powers of the Executive Board to conduct the day-to-day decision-making of the IMF are delegated to it by the Board of Governors.
The Board of Governors, on which all members are represented, is the highest authority governing the IMF. It usually meets once a year at the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and decides major policy issues.
