It’s a pity emerging nations couldn’t agree on single candidate for the IMF managing director: Gregory Marchenko

It’s a pity emerging nations couldn’t agree on a single candidate to run for the position of the IMF managing director, Gregory Marchenko, Chairman of the Kazakhstan’s National Bank, said in his interview for "Marker".

“It's a pity...not because I was running for the position... Perhaps, with the current level of cooperation they just couldn’t have agreed on one single candidate. This is something needs changing. If emerging nations don’t get prepared properly, the same thing may happen in 5 years’ time”, Marchenko believes.

According to him, he learned about his own candidacy being suggested [for the IMF managing director] while speaking at a seminar on the sidelines of the EBRD annual meeting held this year in Astana. “I got an sms from PM Karim Massimov. I couldn’t even call him. Everything happened during the two hours I was at the meeting”, he said.

Marchenko also said that PM Karim Massimov had come up with the idea of suggesting Marchenko’s candidacy while meeting CIS heads of governments in Minsk, Belarus. “Later on he coordinated the issue with PM Putin of Russia, then the idea was supported by the other CIS PMs. By the time I left the seminar journalists were waiting to talk to me. They already knew that the CIS Council of heads of governments had supported my candidacy”, Marchenko said.

Gregory Marchenko had told CNN June 3 he is withdrawing his bid to head the International Monetary Fund. According to him, it is "more or less obvious" that the job will go to French Financial Minister Christine Lagarde.

“Russian counterparts told us that during the G8 summit Russia had promised France to support Christine Lagarde. Without Russia’s support it was no sense trying”, Marchenko elaborated in his Marker interview.