Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) and Group of Twenty (G20) will hold discussions in Washington later this month as they gather for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the U.S. Treasury Department announced Monday. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will host a G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting on April 24 and a G20 ministerial meeting on April 25, the department said. It will be Geithner's first time hosting a finance ministerial meeting since becoming Treasury Secretary. He is scheduled to hold a news conference following the meeting of the G7, which comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Canada. But the G20, which also includes key emerging-market countries like China, India, Brazil, and Russia, has been increasing its significance, especially with most of the G7 countries in economic recession. G20 finance ministers and political leaders have met twice in the past month in Britain, most recently on April 2 when they agreed on $1.1 trillion in government money to combat the most severe financial crisis in decades. The agreement included a huge infusion of money for the IMF, to give it resources to lend to emerging-market countries.
