§ 39. Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be his immediate aims as newly appointed chairman of the International Monetary Fund interim committee.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweAs chairman of the interim committee, I intend to make sure that the fund plays its full role in the present difficult world economic situation and that it has the resources to enable it to do so. I visited Saudi Arabia on 7 to 9 January with the IMF managing director to discuss enlarging the fund's resources and what role the Saudis might play in this. I attended the meeting of the group of 10 Ministers in Paris on 18 January at which Ministers decided to enlarge the GAB from SDR 6.4 billion to SDR 17 billion. I have also brought forward the date of the next interim committee meeting from April to 10–11 February, and hope to make further progress then on the question of an increase in fund quotas.
§ 41. Mr. Arnoldasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 20 December, Official Report, c. 312, what progress has been made towards increasing the International Monetary Fund's quotas; and whether he has yet decided on the figure between 50 per cent. and 100 per cent. which he considers appropriate.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe executive board has made good progress since the Toronto interim committee meeting in narrowing views on the appropriate increase in quotas, and I have therefore brought forward the next interim committee meeting to 10–11 February to seek agreement among Ministers. I continue to believe that a minimum increase of 50 per cent. is needed, but as chairman of the interim committee I shall have to take into account the views of other countries, some of which seek higher, and some lower, figures.
An increase in quotas in the range SDR 85 billion to SDR 100 billion, together with the increase in GAB resources from SDR 6.4 billion to SDR 17 billion which was agreed by the Ministers of the group of 10 on 18 January, should provide the fund with adequate resources.