G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to Meet Amid Fallout from Iran War

Officials to Meet in Thailand as Conflict Drives Up Energy Prices and Fuels Global Economic Uncertainty

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will meet Thursday in Bangkok, Thailand, amid an uncertain global outlook stemming from the US-Israeli war on Iran.

These meetings will be held at the same time as the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which will be held from October 12 to 18 in the Thai capital.

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At the end of the list, here are some key details about the sessions:

What is G20, International Monetary Fund and World Bank?

The G20 is an economic forum consisting of 19 major economies, including the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the European Union and the African Union.

The group has an annual presidency, which is currently held by the United States.

Together, the G20 countries account for about 85 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) and three-quarters of global trade.

The Group of 20 was established in 1999 as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to address common economic concerns in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, before expanding into a broader forum.

The International Monetary Fund, based in Washington, DC, is an international financial institution that promotes international cooperation on monetary policy, trade, and economic growth.

Its members include all independent countries in the world, including North Korea, Cuba, Vatican City and Monaco.

The World Bank, also based in Washington, DC, operates primarily as a provider of loans and grants to developing countries. It has 189 member countries.

The IMF and the World Bank were created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference in the United States, convened by the Allied Powers to determine the contours of the international financial order after World War II.

Most of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will be in Bangkok, along with Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant will be a notable absentee from the gatherings as the chief economic officer of the world's largest economy and head of the Group of 20.

US officials have cited "domestic interactions" for Bessant's decision to skip the events, where Washington will be represented by Undersecretary Francis Brooke and Undersecretary for International Affairs Erin Brown.

The G20 meeting, one of several gatherings of the group's finance ministers each year, will help shape the agenda for the leaders' summit in Miami, Florida, on Dec. 14-15.

The economic consequences of the American-Israeli war against Iran are expected to dominate the discussions.

Attacks across the Middle East have boosted economic activity across the region, while shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up energy prices around the world.

Crude oil prices have exceeded $100 per barrel for most of the past 8 months, straining government coffers and household budgets, especially in the Persian Gulf region and the rest of Asia.

Ahead of the meeting, Australian Treasury Secretary Jim Chalmers, a member of the Australian Parliament, said he would use the talks to end conflicts in the Middle East and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as this is what the global economy desperately needs.

"War in the Middle East has devastating economic effects, driving up fuel prices, inflation and interest rates around the world," Chalmers said in a statement.

Other issues likely to be on the agenda include rising debt levels in many countries, which have exceeded 100 percent of GDP in the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy and France.

In a speech on Wednesday, Georgieva warned that rising debt poses a threat to the global economy and that there is no "magic" formula that will allow governments to avoid raising taxes or cutting spending.

G20 members will also bring more specific individual concerns to the table based on their economic and geopolitical priorities.

For example, the United States has repeatedly expressed concern about "global imbalances," a veiled reference to China's state-owned industry that allows Chinese exporters to flood overseas markets with cheap goods.

President Donald Trump has long argued that China's huge trade surplus, which hit $938 billion in September, proves that international trade is stacked against American manufacturers.

In a statement to the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday, Bessant called for action to address imbalanced trade balances.

"This includes, in particular, strengthening analysis and engagement on the role of non-market policies and practices and exchange rates in creating external imbalances," Besnet said.

Policymakers around the world are having difficult debates about how to preserve market-based systems amid perverse policies by some economies that distort competition and hurt employment.

However, divisions and competing interests cloud the prospects for coordination.

At the last meeting of G20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina, US, held on August 31 and September 1, member states did not issue a joint statement after China objected to trade-related wording.