WASHINGTON, Nov 1: Former French finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn formally took charge of the International Monetary Fund on Thursday pledging to overhaul the institution’s relevance and finances.

The Frenchman was mobbed by reporters as he arrived at the IMF’s imposing headquarters near the White House, promising to accelerate reforms initiated by his predecessor, Spaniard Rodrigo Rato.

“I have been chosen for the reform and now I am going to go on building on what Rodrigo Rato did during the last years, but going further and faster to reform the institution,” Strauss-Kahn said.

The IMF’s new managing director said the Fund had to adapt to dramatic changes in the global economy not envisaged during its founding. Established to promote global financial stability, the IMF finds itself 63 years later out of step with the times and strapped for cash.

Demand for interest from loans from stricken countries is drying up for what used to be the lender of last resort, as potential borrowers turn to other, easier sources of cash in a robust world economy.

Developing nations, the engines of global economic growth in recent years, have complained bitterly about the Fund’s strict lending conditions and their scant representation in the 185-nation institution, controlled by rich Western economic powers.

Strauss-Kahn, 58, a former Socialist politician in his native France, had vowed to make reform a key priority “without delay” prior to taking over the reins of control at the IMF.Rodrigo Rato, who welcomed Strauss-Kahn to his new offices, resigned after the IMF and World Bank annual meetings October 20-22 in Washington, nearly two years before his five-year mandate ended, citing personal reasons.

IMF policymakers have approved internal reforms to give under-represented non-Western countries a stronger voice and agreed that the Fund must shore up its shaky finances, pledging to cut costs and boost efficiency.

—AFP