Lagarde suited to head IMF; India voted for her: Pranab

WASHINGTON: French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is "eminently suited" to head the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) and India voted for her, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here today.

"We all along maintained that we will be part of consensus building, (and) candidate should be chosen on the basis of merit. She is eminently suited," Mukherjee said in response to a question at a media round table at the end of his 3-day trip to Washington.

"The IMF selection process was transparent. India has voted for her," he added.

In a message to Lagarde, Mukherjee congratulated her on her new position and said India is looking forward to working with her.

The Executive Board of IMF today selected Lagarde to serve as IMF MD and Madame Chairman of the Executive Board for a five-year term, starting on July 5.

Earlier in the day, at a joint news conference with US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Mukherjee pointed out that during the election process, India had insisted that the IMF MD should be selected through a transparent mechanism, not specific to any region or any particular nation.

"On the basis of that, we also suggested that we would like to be a part of the consensus, which should be evolved," he said.

Mukherjee, who left for India via New York this afternoon, was here leading a high-powered Indian delegation for the second India-US Economic and Financial Partnership.