Iran Economy Minister Cancels US Visit after Entourage Refused Visa for IMF Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Economy Minister Farhad Dejpasand called off his trip to Washington, DC, after the US government denied the members of his accompanying delegation visas for the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG).
After canceling his visit to the US for the annual IMF gathering, Dejpasand sent a letter to President of the World Bank Group David R. Malpass –a former American government official- to express Tehran’s protest against the Washington government for placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of the Iranian delegation’s trip and for imposing illegal, unprecedented and hostile restrictions on the Islamic Republic.
He also denounced the US move to refuse visa to members of the Iranian delegation who were supposed to take part in the IMF and WBG annual meeting 2019.
Founded at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944, the IMF and WBG have complementary missions. The World Bank Group works with developing countries to “reduce poverty and increase shared prosperity”, while the International Monetary Fund is said to serve to stabilize the international monetary system and acts as a monitor of the world’s currencies.
Every year, the IMF and WBG gathering brings together central bankers, ministers of finance and development, private sector executives, and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook, poverty eradication, economic development, and aid effectiveness.
One of the most important provisions of the WBG charter is the prohibition against taking “political” and “non-economic” considerations into account in its operations.