Governor Talk: Thailand - Navigating Macroeconomic Stability and Growth in a Turbulent World
Governor talk
DATE: Apr 15, 2026
DAY: Wednesday
12:45 PM - 1:15 PM
LOCATION: Cedar Hall, HQ1-1-660
Overview
Thailand has demonstrated resilience amid a highly uncertain global environment, yet it faces mounting economic challenges. Growth has moderated due to long standing structural constraints, while cyclical headwinds are intensifying against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions and the energy price shock induced by the conflict in the Middle East. At the same time, Thailand’s recent election has helped reduce political uncertainty, opening a long awaited window of opportunity to advance reforms needed to strengthen growth and resilience. In this edition of Governor Talks, APD Director Krishna Srinivasan will be joined by Thailand’s Minister of Finance, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, for a fireside discussion on Thailand’s economic outlook and policy priorities. The conversation will explore how the government is responding to higher energy prices, its vision for domestic policies to safeguard macroeconomic stability and reinvigorate growth, as well as Thailand’s role in ASEAN trade and financial integration to support more resilient and sustainable growth across the region. The discussion will also provide an opportunity to highlight Thailand’s priorities as it prepares to host the 2026 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok.
Governor Talk: Thailand - Navigating Macroeconomic Stability and Growth in a Turbulent World
Panelists

Krishna Srinivasan is the Director of the Asia and Pacific Department (APD). In this capacity, he will oversee the institution’s work on all countries in the Asia-Pacific region. He was previously a Deputy Director in APD, overseeing the work on several systemically important countries, including China and Korea. Prior to that, Krishna was a Deputy Director in the Western Hemisphere Department (WHD), where he oversaw the institution’s work on several countries in the Americas, including Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador and the island economies of the Caribbean, the department’s research activities, and its flagship product, Regional Economic Outlook (REO) for Latin America and the Caribbean. He is a co-editor of two recent books: Brazil—Boom, Bust and the Road to Recovery; and Unleashing Growth and Strengthening Resilience in the Caribbean. Before joining WHD, Krishna was the IMF’s mission chief for the United Kingdom and Israel, when he was a staff member of the European Department, and before that in the Research Department, where he led the IMF’s work on the G-20 in the context of the global financial crisis. In the context of this work, he and was the editor of an IMF book Global Rebalancing: A Roadmap for Economic Recovery. Krishna has been with the IMF since 1994 and has served in several departments across the institution. He secured his PhD in International Finance from Indiana University and a Master’s from the Delhi School of Economics, India, and has published several papers both at the IMF and in leading academic journals.

