French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens have been chosen as the candidates of the new managing-director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the fund said in a statement on Monday.?

"The period for submitting nominations for the position of the next Managing Director closed on Friday, June 10," the?statement said.

Consistent with the Board decision adopted on May 20 specifying the procedures for the selection of the next Managing Director, and the applicable By-Laws of the IMF, the Executive Board is pleased to announce that it will consider the following two candidates: Agustín Carstens, a Mexican national and Governor of the Bank of Mexico and Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment.

"The Executive Board will meet with the candidates in Washington D.C. and, thereafter, meet to discuss the strengths of the candidates and make a selection," said the statement.

"The objective is to complete the selection process for the next Managing Director by June 30, 2011," the statement added.