New Delhi: The government will announce its decision on its preferred candidate for the IMF top job at an appropriate time, the finance minister said on Friday.
“I am in touch with some of my counterparts and our ED (executive director) is in constant touch with the directors of different countries,” Pranab Mukherjee said.
“We will announce our decision (on the IMF candidate) at the appropriate time.”
French finance minister Christine Lagarde is widely regarded as the front-runner for the IMF top job as she has already secured the backing of the European Union and French officials claim that she also enjoys the support of China.
Mexico’s central bank chief Agustin Carstens is another candidate who has announced his nomination for the IMF top job, which fell vacant after its former boss Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of raping a New York hotel maid.
The new IMF chief is to be elected before 30 June. During the visits of both Lagarde and Carstens, the Indian government had refused to make any commitment regarding whom they would support in the polls.
India has a voting quota of 2.34% in the IMF, which has 187 countries as members. The US is the largest shareholder in the multilateral lending agency, with a 16.8%quota share.
PTI also contributed to this story
