Minister Donohoe visits Washington D.C. to attend annual World Bank & IMF meetings

Meetings on Capitol Hill present valuable opportunity to discuss importance of trans-Atlantic relations

The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure & Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, will travel today (Wednesday) to Washington D.C. to attend the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). While in Washington, Minister Donohoe will also undertake a series of meetings with senior members of the US Administration.

During his visit, Minister Donohoe will meet with senior members of both the IMF and the World Bank Group including the new Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.

The Minister will participate in a number of Annual Meeting events. He will deliver a key address to the World Bank’s Human Capital Project Ministerial and Champions Conclave and has been invited as a high level panellist at the IMF’s ‘Making the Case for Reform: on the Political-Economy of Structural Reforms’ seminar. Minister Donohoe will also launch Ireland’s Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) initiative, which is a whole of government collaboration between the Department of Finance, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners (Revenue) to strengthen developing countries’ tax administrative capacity.

The Minister will also meet with key members of the US Administration; Acting White House Chief of Staff & Office of Management & Budget Director Acting Chief of Staff, Mick Mulvaney; Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Richard Neal; and members of the Committee; and Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Chuck Grassley. Discussions on Capitol Hill will focus on our two-way bilateral economic relationship with the United States, as well as EU-US relations post-Brexit.

In a public address to the Brookings Institution scheduled for Thursday, Minister Donohoe will speak about Ireland’s place in an increasingly interdependent world, the challenges posed by Brexit and the future relationship between Ireland, the EU and the UK, and the importance of trans-Atlantic relations.

Speaking in advance of his visit, the Minister said:

‘I’m looking forward to attending the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF. In uncertain times these multilateral institutions and the contribution they make to major economic and social progress is more important than ever. I look forward to the opportunity to exchange perspectives on international economic and development issues’.

“Ireland and the US are important partners. During my visit, I will also take the opportunity to engage with the highest levels of the US Administration, and the many friends of Ireland on Capitol Hill, to discuss the two-way economic and trade relationship which is supporting jobs in both countries, and how we can continue to grow and strengthen this mutually beneficial relationship.”

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