BANGKOK, October 13, 2026 — Finance Minister Henry Musasizi, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Ramathan Ggoobi, Bank of Uganda [BoU] Governor Michael Atingi-Ego, and other senior officials from the two institutions are in Bangkok, Thailand, for the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund [IMF] and World Bank Group.
The Annual Meetings have brought together finance ministers, central bank governors, development partners, private-sector representatives, civil society organisations and academics to discuss the state of the global economy and other issues of international concern.
The core themes of the 2026 Annual Meetings include the global economic outlook, financial stability, poverty reduction, mobilising private capital for jobs and infrastructure, and the role of artificial intelligence [AI] in development.
Ahead of the meetings, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva set the stage for the discussions by highlighting three major forces shaping the global economy: the rapid rise of AI, persistently high energy prices and record levels of public debt.
She called for decisive policy action, stronger economic growth and international cooperation to navigate an increasingly complex global economic landscape.
Speaking about AI, Georgieva said global investment in AI, relative to gross domestic product [GDP], would reach and potentially exceed the amounts invested in building railways, electricity grids and telecommunications networks.
“Love it, hate it, or fear it, AI is here, rapidly becoming a key driver of countries’ relative fortunes in the world economy,” Georgieva said.
On the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank meetings, Musasizi and his delegation participated in the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa [MEFMI] Combined Forum 2026, held under the theme “Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics for Macroeconomic and Financial Policy.”
The forum provided a platform for policymakers and practitioners to share practical experiences and perspectives on how AI is transforming the financial sector, protecting central bank reserves from spikes in foreign exchange transfers, and building a pathway towards sustainable financing, among other policy issues.
Uganda’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and Thailand, Ambassador Betty Bigombe, also participated in the MEFMI Forum.
The 2026 Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank Group are taking place from Monday, October 12, to Sunday, October 18, in Bangkok, Thailand.
Key events during the Annual Meetings include the Plenary Session, the Development Committee and the International Monetary and Financial Committee meetings. Other events include regional briefings, press conferences and forums focusing on international development, the global economy and financial markets.
About 15,000 to 18,000 delegates from 191 countries have registered to attend the 2026 Annual Meetings.
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