WASHINGTON, April 22 (KUNA) -- The annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) kicked off Monday amidst global fears over the impact of US tariffs on the world economy and commerce.
President Donald Trump announced earlier this month new US tariffs on world countries; however, most were suspended for 90 days after the announcement steered controversy.
The first session of the meetings touched on various issues including expanding energy access in Africa and debts impact on growth and financial stability of companies in a world plagued by increasing interest rates.
The State of Kuwait, represented by Finance Ministry Undersecretary Aseel Al-Munifi, is taking part in the event, which is witnessing a wide-range participation from government representatives, civil society members, business personnel, as well as other officials and organizations.
The IMF issued on the first day of the meetings a report on geopolitical crises and their effect on assets and financial stability.
The IMF warned that geopolitical hazards were still high, leading to increasing fears regarding their impending impact on the stability of macro economy and finances.
Such dangers reduces cross-border commerce and investments, creating a sense of uncertainty as well as redistributing the flow of capital, disturbance to supply chains and negative impacts on demand, added the report.
The IMF report suggested that financial institutes and auditory bodies should allocate enough resources to identify threats, measure them, and finding suitable ways to manage them.
Emerging and developing economies and markets must increase efforts for developing financial markets, creating enough space to handle general monetary policies in addition to creating International reserves to lessen the impact of geopolitical shifts.
The second day of the Spring Meetings would see the IMF issuing another report on the impact of the new US tariffs on the world.
The IMF previously described the tariffs as a clear example of the dangers facing international expectations amidst slow overall growth.
Meanwhile, during the opening press conference of the Spring Meetings, President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga revealed that the WB helped to create job opportunities for some 2.1 billion youths eager to join the work force in several developing countries next year.
However, uncertainties in the business environment and economies might affect jobs, he asserted, adding that developing economies were playing a more central role in global trade compared to two decades ago. (end) asj.gta