G20 meeting will aid budget prep: Swan

Treasurer Wayne Swan says a meeting with his international counterparts will give
him a first-hand account of the global recession and aid his preparations for the
May 12 budget.
Mr Swan left for Washington on Thursday to attend the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting
on Friday, and the Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank
over the weekend.
The G20 meeting - gathering ministers from the world's 20 leading developed and
developing countries - follows the fifth downgrade to the IMF's global growth
forecasts in six months.
In a report released late on Wednesday, the IMF forecast the global economy to
contract by 1.3 per cent in 2009, and advanced economies to shrink by 3.8 per cent.
It is forecasting Australian growth to decline by 1.4 per cent in 2009.
Mr Swan said the G20 meeting was convened by US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
to discuss the implementation of measures agreed at the London Summit.
It will also shape the agenda for the next G20 Leaders Summit, to be hosted by the
United States later this year.
"This meeting will provide a critical opportunity to discuss the global recession
with fellow G20 finance ministers and get a first-hand assessment of how it is
impacting on their economies," Mr Swan said in a statement.
"These soundings will feed into important final decisions for the preparation of the
upcoming budget, which will be delivered amid the most challenging global economic
conditions in living memory."
He said the Spring Meetings would continue with the "ambitious agenda" for reforming
the IMF and multilateral development banks.
Mr Swan will also meet with the head of the IMF Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of
the World Bank Robert Zoellick, and the chairman of the Financial Stability Board
Mario Draghi.
Mr Swan will also address the Anzac memorial service at the Washington National
Cathedral.