This week I will join my international counterparts for the G20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting and the IMF – World Bank 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington DC.
The meetings take place as the International Monetary Fund releases its World Economic Outlook, which shows that while the prospects of a soft landing have improved, global growth is still expected to be weak and challenges in China’s property sector along with the threat of escalation of conflicts in the Middle East and Europe remain key risks to the global outlook.
The global economy faces a complex set of challenges, with high but moderating inflation, weaker global growth, and global fragmentation and the net zero transformation reshaping supply chains.
While global inflation remains a key concern, the balance of risks is shifting from inflation to growth – and the concerns about the outlook for the Chinese economy and increased tensions in the Middle East are adding to uncertainty.
These evolving global conditions make it an important time to engage with my counterparts and international institutions as we put the final touches on the May Budget.
We are not immune from these challenges but we face them from a position of relative strength with historically low unemployment, real wages growing, and a budget which is in much better nick thanks to our responsible economic management which has seen us deliver Australia’s first surplus in 15 years.
Engagement with colleagues at the G20, IMF and World Bank will give us insights into the changing global landscape and how we can best manage challenges coming at us and the opportunities in front of us.
While in Washington, I will meet with my counterparts from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Ukraine, with a strong focus on identifying shared economic challenges and opportunities in the future as we seek to manage this new era of fragmentation.
I’ll take part in a series of discussions about the global economy, climate finance and strengthening our economic institutions, and will raise the importance of working together to ensure more reliable and sustainable supply chains for critical minerals and improving access to reliable banking services in the Pacific.
I’ll join with my counterparts from the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand for a Five Finance Ministers meeting to talk about ways we can build economic resilience and participate in an IMF Early Warning Exercise designed to identify and mitigate threats to the global economy.
The budget I hand down a month from now will be all about easing cost‑of‑living pressures without adding to inflation, gearing our economy for future growth and continuing our responsible approach to economic and fiscal management.
By collaborating with our counterparts in the G20, aligning our efforts on growth and finishing the fight against inflation, we’ll make our economies more prosperous and productive and make our people big beneficiaries of the defining decade ahead.