Secondly, with the renaissance of Asia and Asian economies, the spotlight was also turned to globalization as a necessary force for growth and poverty alleviation, as highlighted by both Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien-loong and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz at the opening of the session.

Globalization is a necessary prerequisite for the opening up of economies, as Asia has found on its own path to economic growth and prosperity. But there is also an accompanying need for drastic (but necessary) reforms to economic management, a greater social re-distribution (in order to temper the "unfair" effects of globalization) and good corporate governance (in order to counter moral hazards and corruption within).

IMF Director Rodriguez de Rato, however, placed emphasis on the need to proceed with and implement the Doha Round of world trade talks and fight protectionism worldwide, along with correcting global imbalances by the big economic powers. The fear of high oil prices and growing inflation impinging on future global economic growth should also not be underestimated.

So, while the overall picture of the global economy is a rather sound one for the coming two years, challenges and turbulences abound on the horizon, and major powers will have to act together resolutely in order to tackle them.

Lastly, there was also considerable debate over the future oversight role of the IMF, from bilateral to multilateral consultations with individual countries.

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