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Tokyo, Oct 13 (IANS) The International Monetary Fund (IMF)Saturday asked the United States and other member-countries, to complete domestic procedures to accept governance reforms giving emerging economies like India and China more say in the multilateral lender. "We reaffirm the urgency of making these important reforms effective and call on members who have yet to complete the necessary steps to do so," the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), policy-making body of the IMF, said in a statement. The IMFC, comprising representatives of 24 of the 188 members, after a meeting here pledged to expedite the reforms and monitor those. The reforms were agreed on in 2010 to reflect the growing power of emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil over the global economy. For these reforms to be implemented, 113 or more members accounting for at least 85 percent of total voting power have to accepted them. However, the US, the biggest stakeholder of the IMF with 17.67 percent of total voting power, has so far held out and whose acceptance is necessary to implement the reforms. "It will take only one or two countries to press a yes button (for the reforms)," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at a news conference after the IMFC meeting, in an apparent reference to the US. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who attended the meeting, said his countries had played a leading role and supported a stronger IMF. "We will continue to support the IMF as it adapts to the evolving global economic and financial system," Geithner said in a statement. The US is expected to go through its domestic procedures following the presidential election next month. -- Indo-Asian News Service srj/vm
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