The seminar, organized by ADB, France, as the chair of the G20 group of leading emerging and advanced economies, the IMF, and the Japanese Ministry of Finance, takes place against the backdrop of slow growth and high government debt in most advanced economies, and an economically strong, export-dependent Asia that is experiencing an inundation of inward investment.

With countries such as the People’s Republic of China, Brazil, and India now among the world’s leading economies, experts have warned that an international monetary system dominated by the US dollar – and supported by a few other currencies like the euro, the UK pound, and the Japanese yen – does not reflect current economic realities.

The seminar, “Joint ADB-IMF-Japanese ASEAN+3 Co-chair-French G20 Presidency High-Level Panel on Reforming the International Monetary System,” will be held on 4 May at ADB’s 44th Annual Meeting in Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

On the panel will be Christine Lagarde, Finance Minister of France, and her Japanese counterpart, Yoshihiko Noda. A prime objective of the current French G20 Presidency is to establish a global response to continued deficiencies in the international monetary system. Joining them will be Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister of India, and Agus D.W. Martowardojo, the Finance Minister of Indonesia, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda and the IMF's Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara.

On the eve of the talks, Mr. Kuroda said that the monetary and financial reforms to be discussed at the meeting are critical to helping Asia achieve strong and sustainable growth for all.

“We have yet to fix the current international monetary system – which fails to address issues such as large and volatile capital flows, undue exchange rate pressures, and disruptions in providing sufficient global liquidity in times of market distress,” Mr. Kuroda said.