The International Monetary Fund will incorporate concerns raised by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent into its policies, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Thursday, saying the IMF was a membership organization and would do what its members wanted.
Bessent on Wednesday called for the IMF and the World Bank to refocus on their core missions of macroeconomic stability and development, saying they had strayed too far into issues such as climate change that have reduced their effectiveness.
Georgieva said the IMF valued the voice of the U.S., its largest shareholder, and welcomed Bessent’s continued support. On the issue of climate, she said the IMF had no climate experts, per se, but countries facing extreme weather events needed the macroeconomic support offered by the IMF.