BBC World News

BBC World News' premier discussion forum, The World Debate, is broadcasting a live programme on 3 October*. This special debate, entitled “Global Financial Crisis – Can We Afford The Future?”, takes place in  Istanbul where The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are holding their annual meeting.  

The programme will focus on key questions such as: “What are the prospects for a durable recovery from the crisis? How should governments deal with huge deficits and rising levels of unemployment? How are businesses likely to contribute toward sustaining a recovery? What will be the long term costs to us all? 

The live debate will be moderated by BBC World News' World News Today presenter, Nik Gowing, from the Anadolu Auditorium at Istanbul’s Congress Centre, and brings together a panel of leading experts from business, politics and academia, plus The IMF's Managing Director, Dominique Strauss Kahn.

Neal Dalgleish, producer of The World Debate,says: "BBC World News' first live debate for a number of years is a significant event which aims to tackle, head on, the difficult choices which need to be made to deal with the consequences of the global downturn."

The World Debate’s expert panelists:

• Niall Ferguson, Financial and Economic Historian
• Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry and Employment
• Jim O’Neill, Head of Global Economic Research at Goldman Sachs
• Güler Sabancı, Chairwoman of Sabancı Holding

The IMF/World Bank Meetings take once a year and provide an opportunity for the leading figures from 186 countries to discuss the critical issues facing the world economy.