Finance Minister Lawrence Wong to visit the US, attend G20 and World Bank-IMF meetings

SINGAPORE: Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will make a 10-day visit to the United States from Saturday (Apr 16), said Singapore's Ministry of Finance (MOF) in a news release.

This is his first overseas trip since he was announced as leader of the fourth generation of Singapore’s political leadership.

Mr Wong will be in Washington DC and New York to meet members of the US Administration. He will also attend the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings as well as the Second Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (FMCBG) under the 2022 G20 Indonesian Presidency.

“The FMCBG will discuss issues such as the state of the global economy; pandemic preparedness, prevention and response, and the development of sustainable finance, including policies to transition towards a greener and low-carbon future," said MOF. 

Mr Wong has also been invited to speak on Apr 18 at the Peterson Institute for International Economics’ Macro Week, which is a series of discussions among prominent finance ministers and central bankers from around the world.

On Apr 21, he will attend the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Ministerial Meeting. The FATF is the global money laundering and terrorism financing watchdog.

MOF said: “At the meeting, ministers will review the FATF’s progress since it adopted its open-Mandate in 2019 and adopt a FATF Ministerial declaration that will set the strategic direction for FATF from Jul 1, 2022 to Jun 30, 2024."

Singapore will assume the FATF presidency from Jul 1, 2022.

Accompanied by officials from MOF and the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Wong will also take the opportunity to meet private sector business leaders and Singaporeans based in New York City.