IMF/World Bank meetings leave developing countries with more questions than answers

Developing nations attended IMF and World Bank meetings in Bangkok without gaining any new answers to pressing global issues. The meetings addressed rising debt, inflation, and the potential of an AI bubble, but offered only standard fiscal advice to lower-income countries already grappling with the consequences of conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva criticized advanced economies for exacerbating budget imbalances, highlighting how developing countries' debt service costs have nearly doubled in the past decade, leaving less funding for essential services like education and healthcare. However, experts raised doubts about the effectiveness of the meetings, with Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council stating that the gathering failed to provide meaningful guidance.

Former Colombian finance minister Mauricio Cardenas expressed deep concern about the lack of a clear roadmap for navigating future uncertainties, emphasizing that the IMF and World Bank were not adequately prepared for this new phase. Despite avoiding a global recession after the US-Israeli war on Iran, the World Bank's deputy chief economist Ayhan Kose warned that the global economy's resilience was not guaranteed, with growth forecasts for both advanced and developing countries now worse than before.

The meetings, disrupted by geopolitical tensions and natural disasters, underscored the challenges faced by developing nations in achieving inclusive growth and building economic resilience.