Kazakhstan will join the Swiss constituency at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The agreement was embodied in a memorandum of understanding signed between Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz and Kazakh Finance Minister Bolat Zhamishev during the former’s two-day visit to the Central Asian country ending Sept. 3.
The Swiss constituency is a voting group within IMF and the World Bank through which its members exercise their rights.
As reported by Devex, Kazakhstan sought to join the constituency, which includes several of its Central Asian neighbors such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The Swiss Federal Council said in July that it was in favor of granting membership to Kazakhstan.
“With the new member Kazakhstan, the standing of Switzerland’s constituency with its geographical and thematic focus on Central Asian countries will be further enhanced,” a statement from the Swiss government issued Sept. 3 read. “The inclusion of Kazakhstan will also strengthen the constituency’s position in the governance reform under way in the Bretton Woods Institutions.”
The statement noted that the membership will be formally completed upon the election of IMF and World Bank executive directors, who oversee the institutions’ 24 constituencies, in autumn.
