Russia considers it expedient to continue participating in the work of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The reasons for this are both purely economic and image in nature, which was announced on Tuesday, February 28, by Deputy Head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Pankin in a conversation with TASS.
“From a foreign policy point of view, we proceed from the expediency of continuing full-fledged participation in the activities of such a large and influential international financial organization as the IMF, which is a significant element of the post-war economic world order, as well as a specialized agency of the UN,” Pankin explained.
According to the diplomat, participation in the work of the IMF is significant not only in terms of reputation, but also for economic reasons. Pankin noted that access to advanced international expertise in the field of finance and involvement in the coordination of various initiatives and ideas in the field of economics is very important for Russia.
Earlier in the day, Alexander Pankin said that Moscow does not currently intend to withdraw from the World Trade Organization (WTO). He stressed that the organization remains an important and uncontested platform for defending Russian trade and economic interests.
On February 7, French presenter David Pujadas called the IMF’s forecast on the dynamics of the development of the Russian economy evidence of the ineffectiveness of Western sanctions. He pointed out that the Russian Federation has avoided a recession, and its growth in the next two years will be higher than that of the European Union and the United States.
On January 31, the IMF presented a forecast for the Russian economy for 2023, which is expected to grow by 0.3% of GDP instead of the previously predicted fall of 2.3%. As noted, last year the country did not experience the projected economic downturn of 3.4% – now it is estimated at 2.2%, followed by moderately positive growth in 2023.
The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation noted that the IMF estimates are beginning to converge with Russian ones. The ministry emphasized that further economic recovery in 2023 will depend on the recovery of consumer demand, as well as measures to ensure the growth of lending, both corporate and consumer.
