WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund's member countries on Saturday pledged to revive flagging global trade, boost government spending and remove barriers to business to fight weak growth that has left too many people behind.The pledge came as world finance leaders fretted over a rising populist backlash against trade and globalization at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. "We reinforce our commitment to strong, sustainable, inclusive, job-rich and more balanced growth. "IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde has been urging countries to do more to boost growth, spending more on infrastructure and education where possible and relying less on loose monetary policy that is already reached the limits of its influence. "The members repeated their pledge to refrain from competitive currency devaluations, to not target exchange rates for competitive purposes and to clearly communicate their policy stances. "We will also redouble our commitment to maintain economic openness and reinvigorate global trade as a critical means to boost global growth.

Source: The Star October 08, 2016 20:15 UTC