Between 11th and 20th September 2006, Singapore will host the Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. Taking place outside Washington, D.C. every three years, the Annual Meetings are the largest and most significant gatherings of global financial representatives in the world.

16,000 delegates and attendees, including Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks from the 184 IMF World Bank Group member countries, will meet with key members of the business arena, including commercial organisations, public and private investment institutions and NGOs, to discuss the course of global economic development and formulate underpinning policy strategies.

Singapore2006 is especially significant because it represents a unique opportunity for Singapore and its ASEAN neighbours to showcase their economic resurgence and growth as major financial forces in the international marketplace, and will act as a spur to regional and global trade. The meetings will give further impetus to the process, currently underway, aimed at forging an interlinked securities marketplace within ASEAN, and the development of ASEAN equity indices, that will, in turn, generate greater awareness of equity investment opportunities in South East Asia.

With the twin engines of China and India forging ahead and Singapore's own economy growing by 5.7 percent it is a crucial juncture at which to assess performance, to forecast and to plan for future investment, growth and hence discussions will focus on the key issues which influence global, ASEAN and regional economics:-

• Sustainable economic growth and financial stability
• Capacity-building for a global economy
• Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's)
• Information and communication
• Emerging capital markets
• Entrepreneurship
• Investment climate