Global finance leaders' paralysis in addressing the fallout from the Hamas attack and Israel's response last week exposed deep geopolitical divisions hampering the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, even as they advanced new funding plans aimed at easing more-frequent economic shocks. Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct. 7, just as top finance officials arrived in Morocco for the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, upending the gathering's carefully crafted script calling for new resources and steps to revive flagging global growth. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not mention the new conflict at opening events.
The International Monetary Fund's engagement with El Salvador has been "very productive" following a recent visit from a negotiating team, but an agreement is "not there yet" for a new financing program, an IMF official said on Friday. "The engagement with El Salvador has been very productive," Rodrigo Valdes, director of the IMF's Western Hemisphere Department, told Reuters. Salvadoran eurobonds are among the best performing so far this year, and investors have looked at a possible deal with the IMF as a catalyst for the next leg of the rally.