Central Bank of Estonia delegation attends IMF and World Bank spring meetings as trade policy uncertainty, climate risk and sovereign debt sustainability dominate agenda

The Central Bank of Estonia announced that Governor Madis Müller and Deputy Governor Ülo Kaasik will take part in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington on 21–26 April as part of an Estonian delegation that also includes the Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt and Ministry of Finance adviser Märten Ross. Discussions are expected to focus on mounting challenges for the global economy, including shifts in trade policy, deepening climate risk and development-policy financing. Alongside attending sessions on the economy, climate, energy and technology, the delegation plans meetings with IMF and World Bank board members, officials from US ministries, private-sector representatives and Ukrainian counterparts. The IMF’s assessment highlighted that the global economy has held up so far but uncertainty has risen substantially, with trade policy uncertainty and geopolitical fragmentation, including Russia’s war in Ukraine, weighing on a return to pre-pandemic levels of activity; it also noted inflation is falling towards central bank targets at a slowing pace and emphasised the need to restore fiscal sustainability given large deficits and rapidly rising public debt. The World Bank’s focus for the meetings is on job creation and workforce development, including improving labour market access for young people and women, while also pointing to the need for stronger support to help governments develop and implement legislation and to cooperate with the private sector. The release noted that the IMF and World Bank spring and annual meetings are held twice a year to coordinate global economic policy among member countries.