Building a better world: GZERO on the ground at IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings

​FILE PHOTO: MF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a press briefing at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) plenary session at the IMF and World Bank?s 2024 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2024.
FILE PHOTO: MF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speaks during a press briefing at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) plenary session at the IMF and World Bank?s 2024 annual Spring Meetings in Washington, U.S., April 19, 2024.
REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

The great and the good of international development are in Washington, DC, this week for the most important event on their annual calendar: the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings. Heavy hitters like World Bank President Ajay Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will discuss the world’s economic outlook in 2025, while central bank heads from some of the most fragile economies will discuss their successes and challenges.

Ukraine’s central bank chief will talk about how to keep his country’s economy functioning with Russian missiles raining down while young Ukrainians in their prime are fighting in trenches instead of building wealth. Pakistan’s finance minister will focus on his country’s daunting challenges, from devastating floods and massive debt to deeply divisive politics. And on a more positive note, South Africa’s central bank chief will be happy to discuss the rand’s hopeful summer turnaround – and what it could mean for the Rainbow Nation.

GZERO Senior Writer Matthew Kendrick will be rubbing elbows to broach the elephant in the room: What is everyone thinking about the US election? GZERO’s Chief Content Officer Tony Maciulis will be interviewing M. Ayhan Kose, the World Bank’s deputy chief economist, and Hana Brixi, global director of gender, among others. We’ll also cover efforts to ensure that development is spread evenly across societies and focus on women’s empowerment and health care. Don’t forget to follow Tony, Matt, and GZERO on social media to stay up to date.

More from GZERO Media

Air India Flight AI171 crashed into the hostel canteen of the B.J. Medical College (BJMC), a well-known medical college in Ahmedabad, India, on June 12, 2025, while students were having lunch inside. Casualties in the building is not known.
West Asia News Agency, Majid Asgaripour/WANA via REUTERS

The US on Wednesday evacuated nonessential diplomatic and military personnel from Baghdad and several military bases in the region.

Eastern Cape EMS Rescue team searches for missing Jumba Senior secondary school students at Efata bridge next to Mthatha Dam in Mthatha, South Africa on June 10, 2025
Matrix Images / Hoseya Jubase

Flooding in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, the result of snow and heavy rain, has left at least 49 people dead, including several people on a school bus that was swept away by the waters.

East and West German citizens celebrate as they climb the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate after the opening of the East German border was announced, on November 9, 1989.

REUTERS

An increasingly small proportion of each country’s population was alive during some of the most seminal moments in 20th-century history, altering the worldviews of today’s electorates.

Jess Frampton

On Saturday, US President Donald Trump activated 2,000 members of the California National Guard to quell protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation efforts in Los Angeles, after small but highly visible demonstrations had popped up across the city in the days prior.