Critical agenda at the Bangkok meeting of the IMF and the World Bank

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank will evaluate the challenges faced by the world economy at their annual meetings, in a conjuncture where geopolitical tensions deepen uncertainties and rising energy costs keep inflation pressures alive.

The annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, which were established in the global financial system reshaped after the Second World War and called the "Bretton Woods twins" every October, will be held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, on 12-18 October this year.

The meetings, which are generally attended by more than 10 thousand people, face to face and online, will bring together finance ministers, central bank governors, private sector representatives, academics and non-governmental organizations from more than 190 member countries.

Meetings will be held again in Thailand after 35 years

In order to reflect the international nature of the IMF and the World Bank, annual meetings are traditionally held alternately in different countries.

Thailand last hosted the annual meetings, which are held every three years in a member state other than Washington, in 1991.

Madrid, Hong Kong, Prague, Dubai, Singapore, Istanbul, Tokyo, Lima, Bali and Marrakesh were among the cities where annual meetings were held outside Washington.

A side event will be organized within the framework of the theme of the host country.

As with all annual meetings, the talks in Bangkok are expected to address various issues of international importance, such as economic growth, fiscal sustainability, financial stability, poverty alleviation and sustainable development.

This year, side events and seminars are also planned to be organized within the framework of the theme of the host country.

These events, which will be held with the theme "Thailand's New Horizons: Empowering People, Building Resilience", are expected to address important economic and development issues from the perspective of Thailand's experiences.

The x-ray of the global economy will be revealed through reports

The Development Committee Meeting, one of the main events of the annual meetings, will be held on October 15, and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Meeting will be held on October 17.

Numerous regional briefings and forums focusing on international development, global economy and financial markets will be held throughout the meetings.

Additionally, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting will be held on October 15, on the margins of the annual meetings.

On the other hand, the World Economic Outlook Report and the Global Financial Stability Report, which contain the IMF's most up-to-date analyzes of the global economy, will be published on October 13, and the Financial Monitoring Report will be published on October 14.

The IMF, which last updated its World Economic Outlook Report in July, reduced its global economic growth forecast from 3.1 percent to 3 percent for this year.

The report stated that the effects of the war in the Middle East were partially offset by the demand-driven acceleration in the global technology cycle with advances in artificial intelligence and the widespread use of this technology.

Energy costs, inflation concerns and high debt are on the agenda

The annual meetings will take place at a time when geopolitical tension in the Middle East continues after the attacks launched by the USA and Israel on Iran on February 28, oil prices remain at high levels due to the conflict, and all these developments keep concerns about inflation alive.

In this period when there is selling pressure in global bond markets, the increase in borrowing costs of governments from the USA to Germany and Japan and the effects of high interest rates on the global economy are expected to be among the important agenda topics of the meetings.

According to data from the Institute of International Finance (IIF), financial vulnerabilities that may be caused by the global debt stock, which reached 365.5 trillion dollars in the first half of this year, are also expected to be on the participants' agenda.

The effects of artificial intelligence on the economy are also in focus

In addition to basic issues such as the global economic outlook and financial stability, the effects of technological innovation on the economy will also receive extensive coverage at the annual meetings.

In the forums and sessions to be held in this context, the effects of artificial intelligence on inclusive growth and the global economy and the transformation it is expected to create in areas such as finance, education, taxation, employment and cyber security will be discussed.

Additionally, topics such as climate finance, green entrepreneurship, green transformation and food security will also be on the agenda at the meetings.