Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are reportedly eyeing bigger roles in managing the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, challenging the 65-year monopoly of the U.S. and Europe in the leadership of the two lenders, according to two diplomats who helped put together a statement by the five emerging economies.
According to the diplomats, the leadership structure of the World Bank and IMF needs to take into account the changes in the global economy, the draft statement reads, as reported by Bloomberg.
“We will insist on the fact that governance at the IMF and the World Bank cannot be a systematic rotation between the U.S. and Europe, with the other countries excluded,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told reporters in Beijing April 12. “There is no reason for that.”
The top post at the World Bank is traditionally held by a U.S. citizen, while a European leads the IMF.
The World Bank and IMF will hold their annual spring meetings on April 16-17 in Washington.
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