Indonesia, US Talk On IMF, World Bank Meetings In Bali

DENPASAR, Bali, Jan 30 (Antara) - Indonesian government and the US-based Secretariat have discussed several technical issues on the upcoming IMF-World Bank Group (IMF-WBG) Annual Meetings, that will be hosted here on Oct 8-14. Causa Iman Karana, head of Bali Central Bank stated that the national committee of IMF-WBG along with the US-based groups' secretariats have met in Denpasar on Jan 29 to Feb 7 to prepare the convention held in Bali. He noted that the two committees have discussed several preparations on security, airport, transportation, the human resources supports, as well as plans to anticipating emergency situations. The organizers also prepared the communication access, the customs, and other supporting facilities. Apart of the committee, the preparation meeting is also attended by some representatives of the National Police, the Military, and the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG). Karana stated that despite of the Mount Agung's eruption, the meeting is still scheduled to be hosted in Bali. The annual meeting of IMF and World Bank Group will be attended by more than 15 thousands participants, as well as delegations of 189 countries worldwide. Not only chiefs of the Central Bank and the finance minister, the meetings will bring together investors and other companies around the world. As a host country, Indonesia has prepared the venue and some supporting infrastructures, such as constructing an underpass to the venue, and enlarging the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. The meetings, Karana said, is expected to boost the foreign arrivals to Bali, and other neighboring tourist destinations in Indonesia. "We hope the IMF-WBG meetings will bring a positive impact to Bali and Indonesia," he noted. Meanwhile, in its official website, the Finance Ministry announced that Bali remains safe for the 2018 IMF-WBG meetings on next Oct. "The authority has confirmed that all areas of more than 10 kilometers radius of Mount Agung are safe, and people would go on their businesses as usual," the ministry remarked. All updates on the meetings, the ministry stated, could be tracked from the official website, "www.am2018bali.go.id", or other social media accounts of "@am2018bali" (Twitter), "@am_2018_bali" (Instagram), and "The 2018 IMF WBG Annual Meeting Bali" (Facebook Page).