International Monetary Fund: Building a United Future

The book exhibition "International Monetary Fund: Building a United Future" dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the creation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is on show in the Documents of International Organizations Reading Room of the National Library of Belarus (2nd floor, 207g) from December 8, 2020, to January 10, 2021.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an intergovernmental monetary and credit organization established to promote international financial cooperation and international stability in the monetary and financial sphere. The IMF seeks to promote international trade, high employment and sustainable economic growth, as well as reduce poverty worldwide. The IMF is a specialized agency of the United Nations, participates in the work of the UN Economic and Social Council and has its own charter, governance structure and finances.

The idea of the IMF was born at the UN International Conference on Monetary and Financial Affairs, which was held in Bretton Woods ( New Hampshire, USA) in July 1944. Delegates from 44 nations agreed on the basis of economic cooperation to prevent a repeat of the disastrous economic policies that were one of the causes of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Representatives of the participating countries drafted a charter (Articles of Agreement), the final version of which the first 29 states signed on December 27, 1945. The IMF began operations on March 1, 1947. The first country to take out a loan was France.

The IMF currently has 190 member states and employs 2,700 people from 150 countries. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

The IMF's highest governing body is the Governing Council, in which each member country is represented by the governor and his deputy. Operational issues are decided by the Executive Board of the Foundation, consisting of 24 executive directors. The IMF Executive Board elects a managing director for a five-year term, who heads the Fund's staff. Since October 1, 2019, this post has been held by Kristalina Georgieva.

Under Article 1 of the Articles of Agreement, the IMF sets itself the following goals: to promote international cooperation in the monetary and financial sphere; promote the expansion and balanced growth of international trade; Ensure currency stability; assist in the creation of a multilateral system of settlements among the Member States, as well as the removal of currency restrictions; to provide temporary foreign exchange funds to the Member States that would enable them to correct imbalances in their balance sheets. As the only international institution whose authority is to engage in active dialogue with virtually all countries on economic policy issues, the IMF serves as the main forum for discussing not only the economic policies of countries in a global context but also issues of great importance to the stability of the international monetary and financial system.

Republic Belarus' is termed the IMF from 1992 the year. In the same year, the IMF Office was opened in Minsk. The IMF promotes the Republic of Belarus on three vectors: cooperation with the National Bank and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on national economic programs, with a focus on tax and monetary and trade policy; providing resources in the form of loans and loans; expert and technical assistance. Representatives of the Republic of Belarus regularly participate in various activities of the Fund, including the annual meetings of the IMF Board of Governors.

The exhibition presents more than 70 documents in Russian and English: books, brochures, periodicals, booklets.

The exposition includes the following thematic sections:

• IMF International Monetary Fund: history and the present
• Main Activities of the IMF
• IMF and the Republic of Belarus

The exhibition will be useful to specialists in finance and trade, entrepreneurs, researchers in small and medium-sized businesses, students and teachers of economic and financial specialities.

Related links:

• Highlights about the IMF
• IMF decision-making procedure
• Articles of the Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• Organisational Structure
• Annual reports
• Representation of the IMF in the Russian Federation
• Representation of the IMF in the Republic Belarus
• IMF website
• Global Financial Stability Report

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by library card or by the ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.

Official Documents Service Department