WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group will hold their 2012 Annual Meetings in Tokyo, Japan, in October 2012, announced the IMF on Monday.

The meetings, originally announced to be held in Egypt, switched to Japan because of the recent unrest in the North African country.

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"Japan was chosen as an alternative venue for the 2012 Annual Meetings, in lieu of Egypt, the original host country," the IMF said in a statement. "Given recent developments in Egypt, the Egyptian authorities had requested to host the next Annual Meetings abroad, which will be discussed by the Executive Boards in the near future."

The Annual Meetings of the Washington-based sibling international financial institutions serve to discuss international economic and financial developments, and policies to strengthen inclusive economic growth and help countries overcome poverty.

They provide a forum for international cooperation and enable the Fund and Bank to better serve their 187 member countries.

Last month, the Japanese government announced its intention to host next year's annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Tokyo.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the meetings will be a perfect opportunity for Japan to demonstrate its recovery from the disaster to participants from around the world.