IMF, World Bank cancel annual meetings in washington

IMF, World Bank cancel their Sept. 29-30 annual meetings scheduled in Washington

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER

AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank announced Monday that they had canceled this year's annual meetings, saying the move was taken to allow security agents to focus on issues raised by last week's terrorist attacks.

In a joint statement, officials of the two multinational lending agencies headquartered in Washington said their normal operations would not be affected by the cancellation.

"This decision was taken out of deepest respect and sympathy for the families of all those touched by the horrific events of last Tuesday and in order to dedicate law enforcement personnel fully to the extraordinary and immediate priorities at hand," said IMF Managing Director Horst Koehler and World Bank President James Wolfensohn.

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