SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 21 – When the
International Monetary Fund
during its Annual Meetings
held its Africa Regional
Outlook press conference,
Inner City Press by WebEx
asked questions on Cameroon
and the International Court of
Justice decision on the
Somalia and Kenya maritime
dispute. Video here.
The IMF's Abebe
Aemro Selassie said the Fund
is seeking transparency on how
money is spent and with whom.
He deferred on the Court's
decision (and recused himself
on Ethiopia, on which Inner
City Press was also prepared
to ask). IMF transcript will
be on IMF.org.
The IMF at its
biweekly embargoed press
briefing on September 16,
Inner City Press asked about
crypto-currency legislation in
Ukraine and again El Salvador,
about the coup in Guinea and
the role of the Venezuela
talks in Mexico on release of
the SDRs. IMF video and
transcript forthcoming.
Spokesperson Gerry Rice
responded on each. Podcast here.
Short video of Qs on Twitter here.
Now longer YouTube of IMF
video here.
Full transcript here.
Inner City Press
asked, "
what is the IMF's view of
Ukraine's move to regulate
crypto-currency? Also, the new
legislation proposed in
Panama, and the implementation
of the El Salvador Bitcoin as
legal tender bill?" When
called on, Inner City Press
added that Ukraine would use
nuclear reactors' output for
mining.
Rice cited
an upcoming virtual mission to
Ukraine later this month, and
said that on El Salvador, the
talks are under Article 4, not
for a program, as least at
this point.
On the Guinea
coup, on which
the UN of
Antonio
Guterres has
refused to
answer Inner
City Press'
questions, to
the IMF Inner
City Press
asked, "
After the coup
in Guinea,
what has
changed in the
IMF's approach
to the
country? What
have been the
contacts of
the IMF in
Guinea
recently? Same
question on
Myanmar, and
Afghanistan."
Rice said the
IMF is
"watching"
Guinea, after
citing
previous
support to the
country for
COVID
response.
Inner City
Press asked, "On Venezuela,
what is the impact of the
talks in Mexico, and the
involvement of the opposition,
in the IMF's recent
announcement?" Rice said that
given uncertainty, right now
the SRDs cannot be drawn down.
He repeated the same on
Afghanistan.
Again,
transcript will be on the
IMF's website. But how can the
UN get away with not
answering, and actively
blocking, these questions? The
IMF will go to Guterres' UNGA
week, which is thumbing its
nose at NYC with no
vaccination requirement. We'll
have more on this.
Back on January 8
Inner City Press asked the
IMF's Helge Berger, Mission
Chief, about China's so-called
Belt and Road Initiative:
"Your Article IV report cites
China's "overseas lending
projects" amid "rising
geopolitical tensions and
economic and trade frictions."
How does the IMF think that
rising debt levels among
African countries, and
increased skepticism about the
"Belt and Road" will impact or
be addressed going forward?
-Matthew Russell Lee, Inner
City Press. Video here.
(An aside: Inner
City Press has
reported on
the CEFC China
Energy Fund
Committee's
activities in
Chad and
Uganda and in
the UN, on
which the UN is
UNresponsive.)
Other questions
included
China's digital
currency (Inner
City Press also reports
on
crypto-currency
cases in the
U.S. District
Court for the
Southern
District of
New York and
elsewhere).
Berger said
when used
overseas an
issue is that
residents
could start
using another
country's
currency, if
it is easier.
We'll have more
on this.
***
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