IMF: Global Debt to Reach Record Levels

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stressed that governments are required to do more to reduce budget deficits and curb global debt, which has reached record levels. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, said, “We have been warning about the need to put public finances in order, and we see a high degree of understanding, but the measures are not sufficient.” Georgieva said that disruptions in the energy and transport sectors are harming commodity-producing countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq, making sharp economic contractions in their economies likely. Global public debt is expected to rise to more than 100% of GDP by 2029, two years earlier than previously projected, driven primarily by a surge in debt in the United States and China, according to the Washington-based institution.