IMF chief says Saudi attacks could have negative spillover ‘everywhere’

BANGKOK: International Monetary Fund head Kristalina Georgieva said Wednesday that recent attacks on Saudi Arabia could impact people “everywhere,” as conflict in the region adds to wide-ranging economic concerns.

The Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s international airport at the weekend left 13 people dead and operations suspended in the worst attack since 2015.

“The Saudi economy is important for the region and the world,” IMF managing director Georgieva said at a news conference during the Annual Meetings of the Fund and World Bank in Bangkok.

“In that sense, these developments have potentially negative spillovers for everybody, everywhere,” she said.

The warning comes as officials and experts gather in the Thai capital to discuss challenges facing the global economy, including higher energy costs and concerns about the sustainability of an artificial intelligence boom.

Other hurdles include ballooning debt in advanced economies, with bond yields at multi-decade highs as pressure grows on central banks to hike interest rates to cool inflation.

“What is our loudest call to policymakers right now? Make urgent repairs to the fiscal house before the cracks widen,” Georgieva said.

“Now is the time to enhance revenues, to rationalize spending and improve public financial management.”