High Debt and Waning Support Debated at Bangkok Meetings

High debt levels, soaring debt service costs, and a sharp decline in official development assistance are forcing developing countries and institutions to rethink their development approaches. Private sector financing and the search for new resources were on the table at the annual IMF and World Bank meetings held in Bangkok.

World Bank President Ajay Banga stated that private capital flowing into development projects has more than tripled since 2022, emphasizing that change is needed to cope with persistent conflicts, declining official aid, and mounting debt burdens. Banga also pointed to a major demographic challenge, noting that while about 1.2 billion young people are expected to enter the labor market over the next 10 to 15 years, only 400 million jobs appear to be on the horizon.

While donor countries of the OECD Development Assistance Committee saw their international aid fall by 23 percent in real terms in 2025, the total external debt stock of developing countries reached $12.3 trillion that same year. As U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs increase pressures, developing countries are turning toward forming new trade partnerships that exclude the U.S. Meanwhile, Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network, stated that the IMF failed to reach a sufficient majority to launch the Extended Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, noting that the meetings offered no new initiatives for debt-burdened nations.