as IMF, World Bank annual meetings underway

AS part of the ongoing International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, Senior Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, representing Guyana, joined fellow Ministers of Finance and Central Bank Governors from the Caribbean Region in a crucial meeting with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.
The annual meetings are being held over the period October 9-15, 2023.

The discussions, held at the Caribbean Ministerial Meeting, revolved around macro-critical issues pertinent to the Caribbean Region, aligning with the theme of this year’s meeting: “Fiscal and Growth Challenges in the Caribbean.”

The sub-themes guiding this year’s discussions encompassed securing a sustainable fiscal position and rebuilding buffers, as well as boosting sustainable and inclusive growth. Accompanying Dr. Singh at the meeting were Safraaz Shadood, Ambassador of Guyana to Qatar, and Dr. Gobind Ganga, Governor of the Bank of Guyana.
Notably, Dr. Ashni Singh had recently praised the IMF for providing an “independent, balanced, and objective assessment of the state of Guyana’s economy” during an interview on the Dr. Randy Persaud show. He highlighted that the IMF’s report on Guyana reflected positively on the country’s economic development and management.
“I would say that we consider it to be a good, solid, balanced and objective assessment of the state of the economy right now and we’re happy to get that balanced and objective assessment coming from an independent source,” the finance minister had indicated.

He had also said that the concluding statement of the IMF’s mission to Guyana drew attention to the appropriateness of the government’s fiscal and monetary policy stance.
The IMF in the conclusion of its Article IV consultation with local authorities, said that Guyana has experienced record real Gross Domestic Product growth with some 62.3 percent increase in 2022.

The fund pointed out as well that the growth is expected to continue in 2023 with a projected 38 percent increase in real GDP, as Guyana continues to build its image as a top destination for investment and its report noted further that Guyana’s current expansionary fiscal policy stance is an appropriate one and further projected real GDP growth on an average of 20 percent per year during the 2024 to 2028 period.

The Caribbean Ministerial Meeting gives Governors and Alternate Governors to the fund a forum to have open and constructive dialogue with the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Directors of the fund on macro-critical issues relevant to the Region and offers a venue for sharing experiences, perspectives and priorities and for building solutions for problems afflicting the Region.

It is also an avenue for management of the fund to share developments within the fund that are of interest to the Region.
The Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (WBG) bring together Central Bankers, Ministers of Finance and development, private sector executives, representatives from civil society organizations and academics to discuss issues of global concern, including the world economic outlook and economic development.