BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
The International Monetary Fund, IMF, has released its 2026 Annual Report of the Executive Board, highlighting rising public debt, Artificial Intelligence, AI, investments, trade reorientation, and digital currencies as major issues taunting the global economy.
Titled: ‘Navigating a Precarious World’, the report covered the activities of the global body during its 2026 fiscal year, from May 1, 2025, to April 30, and as well as developments beyond the period.
The global economy continued to demonstrate resilience in spite of challenges from geopolitical shocks, ongoing conflicts, and major shifts in the global trading system.
IMF identified four major forces shaping the global economy as rising public debt, surge in AI investment transforming economies and labour markets, trade reorientation amid an unprecedented energy supply shock and the rapid development of stablecoins, central bank digital currencies, and tokenisation.
The Fund continued to support member countries through its three core areas of economic surveillance, lending and capacity development during the fiscal year, providing US $40 billion in financing to 18 countries, including about US $2 billion to nine low-income countries.
In capacity development, the IMF said that it committed US $400 million to hands-on technical advice, policy-oriented training and peer learning.
IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva noted that the global economy continued to show resilience in the face of more frequent and overlapping shocks during the year, adding that the war in the Middle East had restrained growth, boosted inflation and disrupted the supply of key commodities.
“From navigating a changing trade environment, to reducing imbalances, to seizing the opportunities of the AI age, the fund stands as a venue for cooperation and as a transmission line for good policies,” she said.
Georgieva noted that the IMF strengthened its operations during the fiscal year with the support of its executive board, while carrying out reforms to the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, agreed in 2024, to support the fund’s most vulnerable members.
She said that the fund is undertaking comprehensive reviews of its core functions, including surveillance, financial sector assessments, and the determination of sustainable debt levels for low-income members.
The fund remains committed to strengthening its capacity to respond to the evolving needs of member countries.
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