September 20, 2003	Saturday	Rajab 22, 1424

DUBAI, Sept 19: IMF managing director Horst Koehler on Friday expressed guarded optimism about the state of the global economy, highlighting risks that threaten the prospects for a sustained recovery.

“We meet at a time of rising optimism about the global recovery,” Koehler told a news conference ahead of the IMF’s annual meeting here between September 23 and 24.

The IMF will discuss how best to “nurture” this recovery and help the global economy return to a period of sustainable growth, he said.

But Koehler outlined two major risks that threaten to derail global economic recovery — large current account deficits across the world and high levels of debt in many countries — saying that “this is no time for complacency”.

He also said that IMF governors will look at efforts to free up world trade, after the dramatic collapse of World Trade Organization talks in the Mexican city of Cancun last week.—AFP