Act Now, Act Together: Opening Remarks for the Annual Meetings Press Conference

IMF News, October 13, 2022

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Speech by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director; Washington, DC; October 13, 2022.
Global growth forecast cut to 2.7 percent in 2023.
The World Economic Outlook shows a one-in-four chance that global growth could drop to a historic low of 2 percent next year.
Repeated shocks cited: Covid, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and climate disasters on every continent.
Rising prices and shrinking real incomes mean that even positive growth may feel like a recession for many.
Risks to financial stability are growing and uncertainty remains exceptionally high.

Over 60% of low-income countries are at or near debt distress.
345 million people are acutely food insecure.
Since the pandemic began, the IMF has provided $260 billion in financial support to 93 countries.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the IMF has supported 18 new and augmented programs with close to $90 billion.
28 additional countries are expressing interest in receiving support from the Fund.
The $650 billion SDR allocation is in place.
IMF ambition of $100 billion of on-lending of SDRs from countries in a strong position; the Fund has just crossed over $80 billion.
Resilience and Sustainability Trust: pledges of $40 billion; staff level agreements for the first three countries: Barbados, Costa Rica, and Rwanda.
Food Shock Window opened to provide rapid financing for urgent needs.

Act with a sense of urgency now, and act together.
Bring inflation down:
- Central banks should take decisive action when necessary and communicate clearly.
- Recognize that rising interest rates come at a cost to growth, but insufficient tightening risks higher rates for longer and more harm to growth and people.
Put in place responsible fiscal policy now:
- Prioritize protecting vulnerable households and businesses.
- Design measures to be temporary and well-targeted; steer away from across-the-board fiscal support that is neither effective nor affordable.
- Ensure fiscal and monetary policies are coordinated: when monetary policy tightens, fiscal policy should not act as an accelerator.
Safeguard financial stability:
- Macroprudential policies need to be more vigilant and proactively address pockets of vulnerability.
Support vulnerable emerging markets and developing countries facing a stronger dollar, high borrowing costs, and capital outflows—especially those with high levels of debt.
Confront food insecurity urgently.
Pursue transformational reforms to address climate change, make digitalization work for people, and address inequality.
Improve debt resolution mechanisms:
- Press for a more effective debt resolution mechanism.
- Seek the G20 Common Framework to become more predictable, with clear guidelines and equality of treatment for all creditors, public and private.
- Explore expanding donor coordination approaches to middle-income countries, such as Sri Lanka.

Economic analysis to help countries navigate complex environment and avoid policy mistakes.
Lending aligned with counter-cyclical role.
$260 billion provided in financial support to 93 countries since the pandemic began.
Support of 18 new and augmented programs with close to $90 billion since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
28 additional countries expressing interest in IMF support.
$650 billion SDR allocation; ambition of $100 billion on-lending with just over $80 billion reached so far.
Operationalization of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust with $40 billion in pledges and staff level agreements for Barbados, Costa Rica, and Rwanda.
Activation of the Food Shock Window for rapid emergency financing.

Act Now, Act Together: Opening Remarks for the Annual Meetings Press Conference — Kristalina Georgieva; Washington, DC; October 13, 2022.