Mr. Strauss-Kahn will meet with the authorities of the four Central Asia countries, as well as with parliamentarians, representatives of civil society, and academia. Mr. Strauss-Kahn will focus on how best the international community, including the Fund, can assist these countries in their response to the financial crisis. He will also underline the IMF’s commitment to supporting them. The global financial crisis and its impact on Central Asia will be the subject of a speech that he plans to deliver at the Government Academy in Kazakhstan and at the State Kyrgyz University in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn will visit Astana, Kazakhstan, on 15 June, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on 16 June, Bishkek, the Kyrgyz Republic, on 17 June, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 18 June.

The Fund is currently supporting the Kyrgyz Republic with an Exogenous Shock Facility and Tajikistan with a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Arrangement.