By Kang Seung-woo
Financial leaders from across the globe will gather in Korea this weekend to seek to find the middle ground on key issues, such as IMF reform and currency feuds, three weeks ahead of the G20 Seoul Summit slated for Nov. 11 and 12.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 member countries, as well as heads of international organizations, will attend the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23 in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province.
They are expected to try their best to narrow down their differences on key issues so that G20 leaders can bring about workable solutions at the November summit.
Finance ministers include U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, Chinese Finance Minister Xie Xuren and EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.
In the pool of central bank governors are U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, Bundesbank President Axel Weber and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, World Bank President Robert Zoellick and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Secretary General Angel Gurria will also be present at the two-day gathering as participants from international organizations.
Minister of Strategy and Finance Yoon Jeung-hyun and Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Kim Choong-soo will represent the host country.
Among the all star-caliber attendees, Geithner, Bernanke and Strauss-Kahn are at the center of attention. Geithner, 49, earned high marks for his efforts handling the Asian financial crisis and served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
He assumed office in January 2009 and has received the respect of President Barack Obama.
Bernanke, re-nominated to the chairmanship in August 2009 after his first term under the Bush administration, is a bipartisan figure.
The 56-year-old, who did not participate in the previous meeting held in Busan in June, has been spearheading the U.S. currency war against China, making it clear that the Fed is preparing to print more money.
Strauss-Kahn, a long-time politician, is seen as the biggest threat for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to beat in his re-election attempt in 2012.
Strauss-Kahn, 61, has headed the Washington-based organization since 2007 after serving as Minister of Industry and Foreign trade and Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry.
Along with them, Zoellick is also a man to watch at this meeting.
Zoellick, who was named U.S. Trade Representative and Deputy Secretary of State by former President George Bush, is an A-rated figure in developing countries receiving support from the World Bank as well as Korea, strongly linked to the United States in trade and foreign affairs.