Policy Papers

Development Committee: The Managing Director's Written Statement

April 24, 2025

Download PDF More Formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy
More formats on IMF eLibrary Order a Print Copy

Preview Citation

Format: Chicago

International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department "Development Committee: The Managing Director's Written Statement", Policy Papers 2025, 011 (2025), accessed April 26, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229008211.007

Export Citation

  • ProCite
  • RefWorks
  • Reference Manager
  • BibTex
  • Zotero
  • EndNote

Summary

The world economy is at a pivotal juncture. At the center are shifting policy priorities by major economies and escalating trade tensions, in the face of high public debt, weak medium-term growth prospects, and transformative forces reshaping the economic landscape. In this context, the economic outlook is highly uncertain, with intensifying downside risks. Based on information available as of April 4, 2025, global growth is projected to fall significantly while headline inflation is expected to further decline, though at a slightly slower pace than expected earlier. Many low-income developing countries (LIDCs) face the added challenge of collapsing aid flows. While growth in LIDCs is expected to further improve in the aggregate, the rate of per capita growth is projected to decline in 2025-26. Moreover, of the 20 fastest growing countries in the world in 2024, around half were LIDCs—yet many of the poorer LIDCs have seen virtually no progress in per capita incomes over the past 15 years. In the current environment of elevated uncertainty and frequent shocks, policies should be geared towards enhancing economic and financial stability, rebuilding buffers, and improving growth potential. Countries should also renew their focus on addressing internal and external macroeconomic imbalances, which can help enhance stability internally, externally, and globally. Multilateral cooperation remains essential to deliver sustained growth and meet global challenges.

Subject: Asset and liability management, Debt restructuring, Debt sustainability analysis, External debt, Financial sector policy and analysis, Financial sector stability, Fiscal policy, Fiscal space, Foreign currency debt, Inflation, International trade, Macrostructural analysis, Prices, Public debt, Structural reforms, Trade policy, Trade tensions

Keywords: Advanced Economies, Aid flows, Debt restructuring, Debt sustainability analysis, Financial sector stability, Fiscal space, Foreign currency debt, Foreign exchange, Global, Inflation, Middle East and Central Asia, Program design, Sixteenth General Review of Quotas, Structural reforms, Trade policy, Trade tensions

Publication Details

You May Also Be Interested In...

Breaking the Trend: Debt Stabilization in Sub-Saharan Africa

April 25, 2025

The Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda, April 2025

The Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda, Spring Meetings 2025: Medium-Term Direction for the IMF: Anchoring Stability and Promoting Balanced Growth

April 24, 2025

2025 Handbook of IMF Facilities for Low-Income Countries

April 23, 2025

Republic of Azerbaijan: 2025 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Azerbaijan

April 22, 2025