Mr. Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will travel to Saudi Arabia (October 23-24), Lebanon (October 24-25) and Egypt (October 25-26) to meet with leaders and to hold consultations with authorities on regional economic developments. This will be Mr. de Rato's first visit to the Middle East region since becoming Managing Director of the IMF in June 2004.
The visit to the Middle East will provide the Managing Director with an opportunity to discuss the region. In addition to meetings with leaders and authorities in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Egypt, Mr. de Rato will meet in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with finance ministers and central bankers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In Lebanon, the Managing Director will also participate in the inauguration of the IMF's Middle East Technical Assistance Center, which is located in Beirut.