At the 2026 IMF–World Bank meetings in Bangkok, policymakers confronted slower global growth (projected at 3.1 percent in 2026) and rising inflation amid geopolitical, cyber, and financial shocks, shifting emphasis from economic size to resilience, connectivity, and adaptability.

Discussions highlighted G20 targets for faster, cheaper cross-border payments by the end of 2027 and local-currency transactions as ways to reduce reliance on single currencies, with Indonesia’s QRIS system—reaching 69.32 million users and linking several Asian countries—cited as a practical example of payment interoperability.

The article concludes that future economic power will depend less on sheer scale than on the ability to maintain multiple payment and trade routes, build trust, and absorb disruptions without collapsing.

From 12 to 18 October 2026, finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world gathered in Bangkok, Thailand, for the 2026 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings. But what did they actually bring home from Bangkok? What issues dominated their discussions? More importantly, could the ideas and policy directions emerging from the meetings reshape the global economic order?

These questions matter because the gathering took place when the global economy was facing an unusual combination of pressures. Geopolitical tensions were fragmenting trade, cyber threats were becoming more sophisticated, and financial markets remained vulnerable to sudden shocks. At the same time, artificial intelligence, digital finance, sustainable energy investment, and supply-chain diversification were creating new opportunities for growth.

Policymakers therefore came to Bangkok not merely to discuss inflation, interest rates, or economic forecasts. They confronted a more fundamental question: how can economies continue to grow when uncertainty has become a permanent feature of the global landscape?

The discussions suggested that the answer cannot be found in the old economic playbook alone. For decades, economic power was associated primarily with size: a larger economy, a stronger currency, deeper financial markets, and a greater share of global trade. Those advantages still matter, but they are no longer sufficient. A different form of........

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