Lagarde in India to get support for top IMF job

Jun 7, 2011, 10:02 GMT

New Delhi - French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde Tuesday held talks with Indian leaders to garner support in her bid to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Lagarde met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and her counterpart Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi, the French embassy said.

'Mrs Lagarde has officially declared her intention to stand for the position of managing director of the IMF,' it said.

Lagarde, 55, hopes to replace compatriot Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as the IMF's head last month after being charged with sexual assault on a housekeeper at a New York hotel.

Lagarde was due to meet planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia later on Tuesday. Ahluwalia was being seen as an Indian candidate for the position but is ineligible since he is above the IMF retirement age of 65.

On Wednesday, Lagarde is scheduled to visit China - the next stop on a tour that includes countries in the Middle East and Africa.

By tradition, the IMF is led by a European but many in Asia and other emerging economies are seeking to change that.

Key emerging markets India and China have pushed for reform at the top of international institutions, but have indicated that they may accept the status quo for the next IMF appointment.

Lagarde is currently the front-runner for the position and Mexican Central Bank president Agustin Carstens is the sole challenger to the European claim to head the IMF.

Carstens is expected to also visit Delhi soon.

Lagarde visited Brazil recently where she committed herself to continuing Strauss-Kahn's IMF governance reform, including giving more authority to emerging countries within the bank.

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