A meeting of G20 finance ministers and the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have opened in Washington.

Ahead of the meetings, IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, told reporters that the world economy is recovering but still remains vulnerable.

On Europe’s debt crisis, Lagarde said there is a need to continuously tackle the crisis while also stressing that significant progress has been made.

In particular, Lagarde said in order to block the spread and recurrence of a global financial crisis, the IMF has secured commitments of additional resources up to about 320 billion U.S. dollars. She added that she will seek to expand those funds to 400 billion dollars during the spring meetings.