IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Meets with JVI Staff and Participants

Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), visited Vienna for the signing of the renewed cooperation agreement between the IMF and the Austrian Authorities on the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI). The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Managing Director Georgieva at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), along with Austria's Minister of Finance, Markus Marterbauer, OeNB Governor Martin Kocher, and OeNB Vice Governor Edeltraud Stiftinger.

Following the signing ceremony, Ms. Georgieva visited the JVI, where she met with JVI staff and course participants. During the meeting with staff, JVI teams presented the work of the Institute and their respective areas of responsibility. In her exchanges with staff, the Managing Director emphasized that people are at the heart of the IMF's work and are its greatest asset. Reflecting on her extensive international career, she shared personal insights and words of encouragement, highlighting the importance of hard work, embracing change, maintaining a positive outlook, and recognizing the opportunities for growth that come with new challenges.

Ms. Georgieva also met with JVI course participants, where she spoke about the IMF's responsibility to its 191 member countries to support macroeconomic and financial stability, growth, and employment. She emphasized the Fund's role in providing policy advice to help countries navigate economic challenges. She underscored the value of bringing policymakers together to build professional networks and learn from each other, which lie at the heart of the work of both the IMF and the JVI. The session concluded with an engaging Q&A with participants.

The Managing Director also had a chance to meet with the wider IMF community based in Vienna, including the Regional Office for the Western Balkans, colleagues working on Technical Assistance for Ukraine, and local staff who were evacuated from Kyiv and Moscow. She expressed her appreciation for the teams' contributions to the Fund's capacity development work and recognized the important role of the IMF's teams based in Vienna.

Maša Valenko, Program Officer, Joint Vienna Institute