The World Bank raises its forecast for global economic growth to 2% in 2023

Washington, April 10 / David Malpass, President of the World Bank, confirmed that the bank raised its forecast for global economic growth to 2 percent in 2023 from its previous forecast of 1.7 percent.

Malpass’s remarks came during a joint event with Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, entitled “The Way to the Future: Building Resilience and Reshaping Development” on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, which kicked off today in Washington, DC.

Malpas added that the increase in the expected growth rates of the global economy is due to the improvement in expectations regarding China’s recovery from the closure restrictions previously imposed due to the repercussions of the “Covid-19” pandemic, in addition to the performance of advanced economies such as the United States, which was slightly better than the previous expectations of the World Bank.

Malpass explained that high inflation rates prompted central banks to keep interest rates at high levels.

For her part, Kristalina Georgieva, Director General of the International Monetary Fund, said that the recovery in the global economy is still weak, due to the high rates of inflation and the recent crises in the banking sector.

Georgieva added, “We look forward to a strong recovery in the global economy, which is facing the challenges of high inflation and central banks’ fight against it by raising interest rates, which led to a decrease in available liquidity and caused problems in the financial sector.”

She explained that the task of monetary policy makers has become more difficult in light of the need to raise interest rates to combat inflation.

And she continued, “With financial pressures remaining limited, the IMF expects central banks to continue on their path to combat inflation.”

It is noteworthy that the 2023 spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund will discuss a range of different topics, foremost of which are the global challenges facing the macro economy, the latest developments in digitization and financial services technology, climate affairs, and the path towards achieving equality.

On the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, meetings of the Joint Development Committee and the Fund’s International Monetary and Financial Affairs Committee will be held to discuss the progress achieved in the work of the Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, as well as the implementation of seminars, sessions and events focusing on the issues of the global economy, international development, and global financial markets.

The Spring Meetings 2023 brings together under its umbrella government officials from the member states of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, observers and representatives of international, regional and economic organizations, central bank governors and representatives of civil society organizations. .