The International Monetary Fund on Friday commended nations for avoiding retributive tariffs, which could have thrown the world economy into turbulence.
Speaking at the 2025 World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings Plenary, IMF Managing Director Kristalina expressed relief that 188 out of 191 member countries had not engaged in tit-for-tat actions.
Georgieva said that though international economic activity was facing a mix of anxiety and resilience, and uncertainty had shot up, “global sentiment is holding up.”
The IMF chief, however, highlighted three medium-term priorities for policymakers: repairing government finances, domestic and external rebalancing, and lifting trend growth.
On artificial intelligence, she cautioned against complacency in the face of optimism and emphasized the need for strong financial oversight and policy readiness as AI reshapes labor markets and productivity.
Georgieva announced that the Bretton Woods institution had conducted nearly 3,000 capacity development projects and approved $37 billion in lending since last October.
She urged members to ratify the 50 percent “quota increase”, support the poverty reduction and growth trust, and replenish the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.
“Our ambition must be to remain able to assist our poorest members,” Georgieva said. “The amounts needed here are in the millions, not billions, and would make a huge difference.”
Meanwhile, the International Monetary and Financial Committee is worried about rising sovereign debt. IMFC Chair Mohammed Al-Jadaan said: “Advanced and emerging markets are approaching debt levels, which require serious attention.”
