Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today:
“I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Roberto Azevêdo on his official appointment today by the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Council as WTO Director-General. I am confident that under his leadership the WTO will address the important opportunities and challenges facing the multilateral trading system in the coming years.
“The relationship between the IMF and the WTO is special as the missions of the organizations are mutually reinforcing. I look forward to working with him and further advancing the collaboration between our institutions.
“I would also like to express my deep appreciation for the outgoing WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy for his great efforts over the past eight years. He has shown an unwavering commitment to the cause of global free trade for economic development, particularly in difficult economic times. Our two institutions have worked well together and I wish him the very best in his next move.”
