India’s finance minister will hold talks with global economic policymakers and counterparts from several countries during the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok from 14 to 18 October.
Nirmala Sitharaman will travel to Bangkok from October 14 to 18 for a packed round of meetings with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group and leading economic policymakers, as India steps into a high-profile multilateral setting that has returned to the Thai capital for the first time in decades. According to the World Bank, the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings are being held in Bangkok in 2026 after a vote by the institutions’ boards of governors, with discussions expected to span the world economic outlook, financial stability, poverty reduction, inclusive growth and climate change.
The Indian finance minister is due to take part in talks on global economic developments, financial sector issues, development priorities and international financial co-operation. Her bilateral programme includes meetings with Thailand’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Ekniti Nitithanprapas, as well as counterparts from Switzerland, Japan, Luxembourg, Bhutan and Curaçao, according to the details released in New Delhi.
Sitharaman is also scheduled to meet Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF managing director, and the governor of the Japan Bank for International Co-operation. Her engagements will extend beyond formal talks, with an Atlantic Council fireside chat set to focus on India’s growth outlook, trade resilience, reform of the international financial architecture, India-ASEAN ties and the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda.
She is additionally expected to speak at a German side event on mobilising private capital for urban and water infrastructure, a theme that reflects wider debate at the annual meetings about how to fund development needs at scale. The World Bank has said the Bangkok gathering is intended to draw together central bankers, finance ministers, private sector leaders, civil society representatives and academics to address the most pressing economic questions confronting the global economy.
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