IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings Conclude; G-24 Demands Quota Reform for Emerging Markets

The IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings formally concluded on April 18, 2026 in Washington, D.C. after five days of crisis-mode diplomacy among 191 member countries. The G-24 bloc of developing nations formally called for accelerated IMF quota reforms to give emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) greater voting power and access to affordable short-term liquidity facilities. The April 14 WEO confirmed global growth at 3.1% for 2026 — down from January's 3.3% — with the Middle East & Central Asia region slashed by 2 percentage points to 1.9%. The IMF pledged $20-50 billion in emergency support for energy-importing developing economies hardest hit by the Iran war oil/LNG shock. The dominant themes were: (1) Hormuz disruption as the most acute near-term economic risk; (2) the US-China tariff near-embargo at 31.6% effective rate; (3) the April 29-30 FOMC stagflation trap; and (4) the need for international coordination on debt restructuring for frontier markets.