WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund must be more active in debt restructuring processes, the global lender’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Tuesday, noting the growing challenges facing vulnerable low- and middle-income countries.

Georgieva told an event hosted by the Bretton Woods Committee booster group that African countries and others, in a 1-1/2-hour meeting, said they wanted the IMF to provide more technical assistance to countries grappling with high debt levels.

She said the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, which includes creditor and borrowing countries as well as the IMF and the World Bank, had separately approved a new playbook to help countries navigate the complex process of restructuring heavy debt burdens.

The roundtable will release the document after a closed-door meeting in Washington on Wednesday during the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

A joint statement released by Georgieva and Hervé Ndoba, chair of the African Caucus and Central African Republic’s minister of finance and budget, said Africa faces the risk of further shocks that could undo strong policy actions taken to bring down inflation, stabilize public debt and reduce external imbalances.

“While growth in Africa is showing some resilience in the face of multiple shocks, the sudden shift in the global outlook has interrupted the growth momentum,” the two leaders said, noting that growth on the African continent had been revised down by 0.3 percentage point to 3.9 percent for 2025.

African leaders and the IMF agreed on the need to ensure macroeconomic and financial stability while working to meet the continent’s economic development goals. They said domestic reform efforts should promote fiscal sustainability by boosting revenue and improving spending efficiency.

“Now, more than ever, the Fund is committed to working with its member countries to help navigate the complex global economic environment,” the joint statement said, noting that addition of a 25th chair on the Executive Board for sub-Saharan Africa strengthened the region’s voice in the fund.

The statement also pledged that the IMF would “remain agile” in responding to emerging challenges, and providing support to initiatives like the G20 Common Framework and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable.

It welcomed IMF steps to review both its debt sustainability framework for low-income countries and the design and conditionality of lending programs with an eye to addressing macroeconomic imbalances and promoting growth.

The African Consultative Group includes governors from 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus and IMF management.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s finance minister said on Tuesday the country wants to broaden trade and investment ties with the United States, especially in minerals critical to the energy transition, while also joining other vulnerable economies in urging reforms at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb is currently in Washington to attend the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, where policymakers are grappling with debt distress, climate vulnerabilities and growing calls from the Global South to reshape how multilateral institutions lend and design reforms.
The IMF has acknowledged the need to tailor programs more toward pro-growth reforms and private-sector led development, particularly for repeat borrowers like Pakistan.
“We genuinely believe that there’s a win-win situation,” Aurangzeb said at the Atlantic Council, pointing to high-level US interest in Pakistan’s copper and rare earth potential. “Reko Diq is only the first one... the value addition and downstream stuff is going to be really game-changing for Pakistan.”
Aurangzeb downplayed concerns over US tariffs, saying the country saw greater opportunity in rebalancing trade and attracting strategic investment.
He reiterated a high-level delegation from Islamabad would visit Washington in the coming weeks to explore broader cooperation beyond tariffs, citing minerals, agriculture and green technology as key areas.
On multilateral reform, Aurangzeb welcomed the willingness of IMF and World Bank leaders to reassess their lending frameworks, especially in light of liquidity strains across the Global South.
“These institutions also need to have ownership and accountability at their end to really drive impact,” he said, calling for a system that allows countries like Pakistan to access flexible financing and avoid perpetual debt cycles.
He praised recent efforts to unify public and private sector arms within the World Bank and to coordinate better with other lenders like the ADB and AIIB.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Tuesday the international lending agency was not just telling countries to get their own houses in order, but was also looking at the way it does business, including conducting a review of how it designs loan programs, and determines their length and conditions.
She said the IMF was also looking at countries that have had repeated programs, such as Pakistan, Argentina and Egypt, to ensure loan programs were designed the right way.
Pakistan has been in over 20 IMF programs, including a $7 billion Extended Fund Facility finalized last year to stabilize its economy.
Aurangzeb said the government was pursuing structural reform, with a focus on climate, population, and fiscal sustainability, including efforts to broaden the tax base and digitize enforcement.
– With input from Reuters