IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Geoffrey Okamoto will resign next year, and Chief Economist Gita Gopinath will replace him, the fund announced on Thursday.

"The IMF said today that First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) Geoffrey Okamoto will leave the Fund early next year and that Gita Gopinath, currently the IMF's Chief Economist, is proposed to be the Fund's new First Deputy Managing Director," the press release said.