Deputy Finance Minister Highlights Thailand's Strengths After IMF Meetings

Deputy Finance Minister Santitarn Sathirathai reflected on the future from the stage of the "Financial Olympics," cautioning against playing the wrong game while affirming Thailand can serve as a bridge for cooperation in three ways and still has many strengths to leverage.

On October 28, 2026, Mr. Santitarn Sathirathai, Deputy Finance Minister, posted on his Facebook page "Santitarn Sathirathai – Dr Santitarn Sathirathai" stating: "After sharing what the world learned about Thailand, I fell ill for a week. Today I want to share the other side: what we learned from the world.

Hosting the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings — the 'Financial Olympics' — gave us a chance to hear what global economic and financial leaders are worried about and where they see opportunities. Beyond next year's economic projections, we picked up signals on fragilities that could become crises and game-changing shifts that could permanently rewrite global rules.

From helping curate the host-country agenda and exchanging views with many leaders, I want to distill two major takeaways:

1. Global Economic Fragilities: 'Stacked Storms, Thinning Buffers, and AI Standing on One Leg'

Although the global economy has weathered multiple shocks and headline numbers still look resilient, that doesn't mean every country, business, and household is coping equally.

'Stacked storms' refer to energy and financial cost risks. Energy volatility remains a major challenge, especially for import-dependent nations, as it affects living costs, production costs, and government relief burdens. At the same time, rising bond yields could raise borrowing costs for both public and private sectors when refinancing or rolling over existing debt.

In this environment, investors and credit rating agencies act like stricter teachers. Countries with policies lacking credibility or accumulating vulnerabilities may face rapid market sell-offs and currency pressure. What markets once tolerated when capital was easy may no longer pass scrutiny today.

'Thinning buffers' means many countries have less fiscal space to absorb shocks.

Many governments carry high debt and spending commitments while still needing to fund aging populations, technological change, and climate adaptation. Concerns about fiscal fragility used to focus on developing economies, but this time they extend to major advanced economies as well. Meanwhile, some countries that once weathered severe crises have emerged stronger.

A memorable moment from the IMF Global Flagship Debate was Greece's finance minister recounting the restoration of credibility after its debt crisis. With a smile, he noted that 'Greece can now borrow at lower interest rates than some large countries.'

This warns two sides simultaneously: countries that were once weak need not stay weak forever, and countries that were once strong should not treat credibility as permanent.

AI is the 'Game Changer Still Standing on One Leg'

AI is widely discussed as a key economic engine. Many view investment in this area as one reason the global economy absorbed the energy shock better than expected.

But the visible transmission so far comes from the 'first leg' — investment in infrastructure from data centers and cloud to chips, electronics, and the energy systems supporting them ('All in AI'). Countries and businesses in these supply chains benefit first, and Thailand has opportunities in several segments. Yet many others don't yet feel the same boost, making a 'second leg' necessary: using AI to raise productivity across the broader economy ('AI in All').

The Small AI stage...