Uche Usim, Abuja

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva has appointed former Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and other experts, as members of an external advisory group.

Okonjo-Iweala was recently announced as a member of South Africa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

In a statement announcing the appointment, Georgieva said the group will meet a few times a year to provide perspectives on key developments and policy issues.

“Even before the spread of COVID-19 and the dramatic health, economic, and financial disruptions it has brought, IMF members confronted a rapidly evolving world and complex policy issues,” Georgieva said.

“To serve our membership well in this context, we need top-notch input and expertise from the widest range of sources, inside and outside the Fund.

“Toward this end, I am proud that an exceptional and diverse group of eminent individuals with high-level policy, market, and private sector experience has agreed to serve on my External Advisory Group. Today we had a dynamic discussion to gain their insights, and to receive informal reactions to our ideas and approaches.”

Other members of the group are: Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of Singapore and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore; Kristin Forbes, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia; Mark Malloch Brown, former United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and Feike Sijbesima, Honorary Chair, DSM and former CEO, Royal DSM. Others are; Raghuram Rajan, Professor at University of Chicago;

Ana Botín, Group Executive Chairman of Santander;

Carmen Reinhart, Professor at Harvard University; Mohamed A. El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser of Allianz; Scott Minerd, Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Investments and Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Chair of ActionAid International.