Transcript of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Press Briefing, World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings 2025

IMF News, April 25, 2025

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Transcript of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Press Briefing, World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings 2025

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• Published: April 25, 2025

Global context, IMF mandate, and governance developments

• Meeting: Fifty-First Meeting of the IMFC, Washington, D.C., 24th and 25th April.
• Governance milestone: IMFC welcomed its 25th member, the third chair of Africa, strengthening African representation.
• Diriyah Declaration: Deputies prepared a Declaration in Saudi Arabia earlier in April to advance IMFC process strengthening and governance reforms; members expressed full support.
• Core IMF focus reinforced:
  • Support international monetary cooperation.
  • Encourage expansion of trade and economic growth.
  • Discourage policies that would harm prosperity.
• IMF core functions flagged for strengthening:
  • Surveillance of global economic trends.
  • Lending (welcome review of program design conditionality).
  • Capacity development assistance.

Trade tensions, uncertainty, and policy implications

• Characterization: Trade tensions cited as a major source of uncertainty and market volatility; described metaphorically as “a forgotten pot boiling on a stove” that is now “boiling over.”
• Member responses and outcomes:
  • Meetings enabled candid, closed-door exchanges among parties to clarify positions, timelines, and potential consequences.
  • Convening power of the IMF contributed to reduced uncertainty and more constructive engagement among members.
• Policy guidance and priorities discussed:
  • Reduce uncertainty by clarifying policies and fostering candid, informed dialogue among parties.
  • Seize the moment to “put their own houses in order”: address delayed domestic reforms, strengthen resilience, remove impediments to productivity, and correct domestic imbalances that drive external imbalances.
  • IMF tasked to:
  • Do more work on external imbalances and how they can become sources of concern, and provide policy advice to address them.
  • Continue scanning the financial sector, especially the non‑bank sector, to identify potential sources of instability and advise on enhancing resilience.

Emerging markets: outlook, risks, and IMF advice

• Growth projections and revisions:
  • Emerging markets and developing economies growth projection: 3.7 percent for 2025 (a 0.6 percent downgrade).
  • Projection for 2026: 3.9 percent.
• Observations on exposure and vulnerabilities:
  • Emerging markets are generally highly open, often export‑reliant, and active in international bond markets; therefore, they are highly exposed to trade tensions.
  • Many emerging markets face limited fiscal space after multiple shocks; some have little or no policy space to act.
• Policy recommendations for emerging markets:
  • Avoid indiscriminate fiscal support; preserve and rebuild fiscal space with a medium‑to‑long‑term framework.
  • Monitor inflation and inflation expectations closely; act on monetary policy as necessary given the data.
  • Allow the exchange rate to act as a shock absorber, applying the IMF’s integrated policy framework with care.
  • Pursue structural reforms relentlessly to strengthen resilience and growth potential.
  • Leverage IMF capacity development and real‑time policy advice where needed.

Debt vulnerabilities and creditor coordination

• Priority: Addressing global debt vulnerabilities, especially for low‑income and vulnerable countries.
• Members welcomed progress in debt treatments under the G20 Common Framework and committed to an effective, comprehensive, and systemic approach.
• Three‑pillar approach (IMF and World Bank) emphasized for countries facing debt service pressures:
  • Support domestic resource mobilization.
  • Mobilize additional international financing.
  • Increase private‑sector engagement and role in economies.
• Debt restructuring and timeliness:
  • Outcome: a playbook for debt restructuring from the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable clarifies steps, sequencing, and timelines previously unclear under the Common Framework.
  • If the playbook is followed, debt restructuring can be achieved in less than 12 months.
• Fund financing capacity:
  • Members agreed on expanding capacity to finance low‑income countries through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) so the Fund can step up financing and ease adjustment pressures.
• Policy emphasis: “You do not borrow your way out of debt. You grow your way out of debt.” Reforms to enhance growth are critical to reducing debt vulnerability.

Fragile and conflict‑affected states (case focus: Syria) and IMF engagement

• Syria re‑engagement:
  • Syria has “returned to the international community”; meetings held in AIUla and at the Spring Meetings to create a coordinating group of institutions for Syria’s recovery.
  • A meeting in Washington co‑chaired by Mohammed Aljadaan, President Banga, and Kristalina Georgieva included Syria’s Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor.
• IMF role and sequencing in Syria:
  • Cautious engagement focused on foundational institutional rebuilding:
  • Define and assess available data and rebuild credible data capability.
  • Rebuild central bank capacity and functioning.
  • Rebuild tax policy capacity to generate revenues.
  • Mission Chief appointed for Syria; Article IV Consultations have not taken place for a long period.
  • Recognized challenges: 14 years of civil war, large displaced populations, and a deeply wounded social fabric — requiring sustained Syrian-led reconstruction with international institutional support.
• Broader fragile states agenda: Similar approaches noted for Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, and Lebanon — combining capacity support, advice, and cautious financial and bilateral/regional assistance while managing sanctions and impediments.

Communications, convening, and final procedural notes

• Convening effect: Bringing parties together in the same room transformed abstract policy debates into more human, real‑life conversations and facilitated mutual understanding.
• Media and transcript:
  • Press briefing transcript dated April 25, 2025.
  • Press contact: MEDIA RELATIONS, PRESS OFFICER: Wafa Amr, Phone: +1 202 623-7100, Email: MEDIA@IMF.org, @IMFSpokesperson.
• Closing observations:
  • Members expressed strong support for IMF surveillance, lending, and capacity development.
  • The overall meeting outcome instilled greater confidence among leaders that coordinated action can convert current challenges and uncertainty into opportunities for a more resilient and balanced world economy.

Transcript of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Press Briefing, World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings 2025 — April 25, 2025.

References

• Lebanon and the IMF
• Saudi Arabia and the IMF
• Syrian Arab Republic and the IMF
• Thailand and the IMF
• Transcripts
• PRESS CENTER
• https://www.imf.org/en/home