super jili IMF chief asks for unity on shared challenges in ‘deeply troubled times’
Updated:2024-10-22 11:40 Views:124
International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva delivers a curtain raiser speech on the outlook for the global economy and policy priorities ahead of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington, DC, October 17, 2024. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / Agence France-Presse)
WASHINGTON, United States — The international community must come together despite the “difficult geopolitical environment” to tackle shared challenges like lackluster growth and the existential threat posed by climate change.
This was the remark of Kristalina Georgieva, who has just started her second five-year term as managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on Thursday, before the IMF and the World Bank’s annual gathering of financial leaders in Washington next week.
Article continues after this advertisementShe used a speech in the US capital to celebrate the progress made in tackling inflation – while warning of the dangers ahead for the global economy.
FEATURED STORIES BUSINESS National ID gives more Filipinos ‘face value BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Unwinding Gogoro … quietly BUSINESS Polvoron maker seeks P500 million capital for expansion“The big global inflation wave is in retreat,” she said, noting that “a combination of resolute monetary policy action, easing supply chain constraints, and moderating food and energy prices is guiding us back in the direction of price stability.”
“And this has been done without tipping the global economy into recession and large-scale job losses,” she added.
Article continues after this advertisementREAD: IMF: Global public debt expected to top $100 trillion this 2024
Article continues after this advertisementBut while the inflation rate is falling, “the higher price level that we feel in our wallets is here to stay,” she said, adding that higher prices were hitting the world’s poorest economies and individuals the hardest.
Article continues after this advertisementGeorgieva also confirmed that a new third chair for Africa on the IMF’s executive board would be held by Ivory Coast.
Her speech comes just a few days before the IMF and World Bank’s annual meetings get underway in Washington against the backdrop of growing conflict in the Middle East, and shortly before the US presidential election, in which the Republican former president Donald Trump is running against Democratic vice president Kamala Harris.
Article continues after this advertisementTrump has repeatedly threatened to hike tariffs, while also suggesting the president of the United States should have a greater say over monetary policy – a task currently reserved for the Federal Reserve, the independent US central bank.
READ: IMF flags real estate, consumer credit risks
In her speech, Georgieva praised the independence of central banks around the world, along with international financial institutions like the IMF, which provided financial support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But she warned that the world is facing “a difficult geopolitical environment,” with the expanding conflict in the Middle East adding to the challenges facing policymakers looking to tackle an “unforgiving combination” of lackluster global growth and high levels of public debt.
“We live in deeply troubled times,” she said, warning that the peace dividend from the end of the Cold War “is increasingly at risk.”
“In a world of more wars and more insecurity, defense expenditures may well keep rising while aid budgets fall further behind the growing needs of developing countries,” she added.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“We must not allow this reality to become an excuse to do nothing to prevent a further fracturing of the global economysuper jili,” she added.
READ NEXT Heads Up PH: Paving the way for mentally healthy, resilient youth PH government to streamline mining application process EDITORS' PICK Sandro Marcos calls out VP Sara Duterte: ‘You crossed the line’ Israel strikes south Beirut after evacuation warnings QC Mayor Belmonte highlights social services in State of City Address LIVE UPDATES: Tropical Storm Kristine UPDATES: 2025 elections precampaign stories PVL: Alohi Robins-Hardy set for PH return, joins Farm Fresh MOST READ DILG identifies 38 hotspots ahead of 2025 polls Garcia to ask PNP for list of private armed groups before 2025 polls LIVE UPDATES: Tropical Storm Kristine De Lima: Nanlaban, reward concepts started in Davao even before 2016 View comments
Category