Message from the Managing Director

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The IMF Managing Director reflects that the global economy "continues to show resilience in the face of more frequent and overlapping shocks."
Recent shocks cited include "war in the Middle East restraining growth, boosting inflation, and disrupting the supply of key commodities."
The medium-term outlook is described as "tepid" and "uncertainty remains high."
Private sector agility, "boosted by AI investment," and "disciplined policymaking" are credited with preventing a worse outcome.

Price and financial stability are identified as "paramount" and as "pillars of resilience" supported by "sound policy frameworks and strong institutions."
The fiscal challenge is characterized as "grows only more acute."
Structural policies are highlighted as "a crucial avenue to build more durable growth, flexibility, and resilience."
AI is framed as "both opportunity and threat":
- Opportunity: countries can "help workers to reskill and firms to seize potential productivity gains."
- Threat: "strengthening cyber-resilience is a must."

The Managing Director emphasizes differentiated IMF support including:
- "clear and candid policy advice"
- "tailored financial assistance"
- "capacity development"
Areas of member support cited include "navigating a changing trade environment, reducing imbalances, [and] seizing the opportunities of the AI age."
The Fund is described as "a venue for cooperation and as a transmission line for good policies."

The Managing Director reports that, with support from members represented by the IMF's Executive Board, the Fund has "further strengthened" itself over the last fiscal year.
To support the most vulnerable members, reforms are underway to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust "agreed to in 2024."
The Managing Director thanks members who "have made commitments" and calls on others to "provide assurances of additional subsidy resources to ensure its self-sustained Lending capacity."
The Fund is "strengthening [its] core functions through comprehensive reviews" of:
- how it conducts surveillance and financial sector assessments,
- how it determines sustainable debt levels for low-income members,
- how it designs country programs,
- how it assesses global imbalances and their impacts.
To ensure inclusiveness and representation, the Managing Director continues to urge members to implement the "16th quota review."

The Managing Director stresses that "each new shock only shows more clearly how interconnected we are" and underscores the benefits of members "pooling their collective strength and working together with the International Monetary Fund to yield tangible results."
Emphasis is placed on choosing fiscal tools "wisely" and on leveraging structural policy and capacity measures to raise growth and resilience.