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US Tries to Avert Clash with Europe over IMF Chief

Vasantha Arora writes from Washington
THE US has sought to avert a possible showdown with Europe over the selection of the new International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief by restating’ its willingness to back one of the latter’s representatives.
Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said the UST did not oppose a European at the head of the IMF but urged Europe to come up with the n^it person for the top-flight
A diplomatic row had erupted on Monday after the US vetoed the European Union’s candidate for the job. German Deputy Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser. All 15 European Union finance ministers rallied behind Koch-Weser’s candidacy and the US move was widely perceived as a calculated snub to Germany.
Summers denied German charges that Washington had pushed developing countries to nominate Stanley Fischer, a naturalised American who is currently the IMF’s acting managing director. Fischer
took over last week after the retirement of Michel Camdessus as managing director. Fischer, the number two official at the fund, was nominated by an unusual coalition of African and Arab countries and has demonstrated the skill to head the fund, the New York Times says quoting his backers.
Talking to newsmen after testifying before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Summers said the US had not sought to influence the position of other countries. "Others have made their own judgements based on their own information and on their own impressions of the needs of the organisation." he added.
US President Bill Clinton had telephoned German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder over the weekend to tell him that Koch-Weser did not meet the US requirement for a "strong candidate of maximum stature who would be able to command broad support around the world". Fischer faces competition from former Japanese fi-
nance ministry official Eir ike Sakakibara, also in the run in addition to Koch-Weser.
Clinton’s rejection of Koch-Weser makes trie succession at the IMF the biggest battle for leadership of a major international institution since the United States fought to oust United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and replace him with Kofi Annan in 1996. says the daily.
IMF board members may begin informal voting later this week, taking a straw poll to determine whether any of the three candidates have strong support. It is still possible that one of the candidates could gather enough support to force a formal vote. Supporters of both Fischer and Koch-Weser are working to line up support from developing countries and generate momentum, the daily says.
Meanwhile. Summers, in his Senate testimony, said the US’ plans to reform the IMF were based on the reality that in the new global financial system the private sector was the over-
whelming source for capital. “This means the IMF will have to concentrate on helping countries make certain key reforms that will facilitate the flow of private capital." he added. The key IMF reforms, he suggested, included helping speed up the flow of needed economic information from governments to markets, paying closer attention to financial vulnerabilities and focussing financing on emergency situations.
The IMF reforms, called for as a condition for the US Congress to* approve IMF refunding'in 1998, are moving ahead. Summers said.
Summers urged Congress to approve additional funds for the World Bank/IMF-adminis-tered Heavily Indebted Poorer Countries (HIPC) debt relief Initiative. He called for the approval of $210 million in supplemental funding for the •current fiscal year and $375 million for fiscal year 2001. which begins October 1.
India Abroad News Service