*EPF317 05/05/2004
Text: Treasury Secretary Snow Welcomes Confirmation of New IMF Chief
(Notes Rodrigo Rato's experience as Spain's finance minister) (140)

U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow has welcomed the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) confirmation of former Spanish Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato as the organization's new managing director.

Following is the text of his May 4 statement:

(begin text)

U.S. Department of the Treasury
Office of Public Affairs
May 4, 2004

We are very pleased with the IMF Executive Board's decision to approve the nomination of Rodrigo Rato as Managing Director. As a former Finance Minister, he directed substantial economic progress in Spain and has an excellent understanding of the realities of economic policymaking. We expect Rodrigo Rato will be a strong and skillful leader of the IMF and will focus on continuing to strengthen the institution, to the benefit of all its members.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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