Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer joins IMF chief raceJune 12, 2011 - 18:20 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said on Saturday, June 11, he will run for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, presenting a potentially serious challenge to front-runner Christine Lagarde, Reuters reported. Lagarde, the French Finance Minister, told her Saudi Arabian counterpart earlier in the day that tackling sovereign debt troubles will be a priority of the IMF if she leads the Washington-based rescue lender. Fischer, also competing with Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens, said the IMF post is one of the best jobs in the international financial system but was noncommittal on a bid until Saturday. "There arose an extraordinary and unplanned opportunity - perhaps one that will never happen again - to compete for the head of the IMF, which after much deliberation I decided I wish to follow through on," Fischer said in a statement. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Israel's representative at the IMF, said he would support and aid Fischer's candidacy. The job has been vacated by Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after his arrest on May 14 on charges of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid. Fischer, 67, would be a significant contender to Lagarde. But the IMF would have to change its rules that no one should be appointed to the post over the age of 65 and that no one should hold the post beyond the age of 70. Fischer, a former deputy managing director of the IMF and ex-vice chairman of Citigroup, was born in what is now Zambia but holds Israeli citizenship, which could pose a problem for Arab countries. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Mirzoyan says meeting with Bayramov was “constructive” At the moment, Ararat Mirzoyan said, there is no basis for additional comments. OSCE vows support for Armenia “in all three directions of security” Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. 151 detained as civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan Citizens have been blocking streets in the Armenian capital, demanding Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. France welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan meeting in Almaty France has welcomed the new round of negotiations between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan. |