KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke, will lead a delegation to the 2018 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WB) in Washington DC, following the conclusion of the third review of the stand-by agreement with the IMF.

Other members of the delegation are Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, Acting Financial Secretary, Darlene Morrison; Bank of Jamaica Governor, Brian Wynter; Dr Wayne Henry, Director General of Planning Institute of Jamaica; and Hillary Robertson, Senior Technical Advisor to the Minister of Finance and the Public Service.

According to the ministry, Clarke and his technical team are expected to hold high-level meetings in respect to Jamaica’s economic programme with the management of the IMF and the WB Group, as well as with President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), H E Luis Alberto Moreno.

Meetings have also been scheduled with senior officials from the US Department of the Treasury.

The Executive Board of the IMF noted at the conclusion of the third review that Jamaica’s programme implementation remains strong 5 years into the authorities’ economic reforms with public debt firmly on a downward trajectory.

Meanwhile, Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde has reaffirmed her personal endorsement of the economic programme during her working visit to Jamaica late last year.