The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday kicked off its semi-annual International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) as the world economy was in the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

The current spring meetings of the IMF and its sister institution World Bank, will consist of a series of policy dialogue sessions, which will bring together IMF and World Bank staff, civil society organization representative and government delegates.

The two organizations meet each autumn in what is officially know as the annual meetings and each spring in the name of the spring meetings.

"These spring meetings will be the first major global meeting since the G20 meeting in London, and so this will provide an opportunity for all 185 members to have a chance to assess the G20 outcomes and make sure that their interests are fully represented," said World Bank President Robert Zoellick.

Besides the IMFC meeting, central bankers and finance ministers from 185 nations will attend the Development Committee meeting on Sunday. They will discuss the reforms of the IMF and World Bank and hold talks on efforts to cope with the crisis.

Though recent data suggests that the pace of declines in some economies has slowed and some signs of stabilization are emerging, both the IMF and World Bank warned that the global economic crisis is far from over.

According to an IMF report released ahead the spring meetings, the world economy is projected to decline by 1.3 percent in 2009 as a whole and to recover only gradually in 2010, growing by 1.9 percent.

"The global economy is in a severe recession inflicted by a massive financial crisis and acute loss of confidence," said the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook report. "All corners of the globe are being affected."

Total expected write-downs on global exposures are estimated at about 4 trillion dollars, of which two-thirds will fall on banks and the remainder on insurance companies, pension funds, hedge funds, and other intermediaries.

The crisis has hurt international trade, with volume expected to plunge 11 percent this year before eking out 0.6 percent growth in 2010.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2009)