PM orders final push as Thailand prepares to host IMF–World Bank meetings in 2026
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Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul chaired the third meeting this year of the national committee preparing for the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, to review readiness in the final stretch before the meetings begin in one week. Government spokesman Ekapop Pienpiset disclosed the details. The Prime Minister instructed all agencies to work at full capacity and with care in every detail, including substance, protocol, security, public health, facilitation, public relations and overall management, and to expedite urgent issues, particularly visas for international participants, assigning the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to jointly consider facilitation measures before the meetings begin. The meeting acknowledged key schedule items: the opening of the Thailand Pavilion on 12 October 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center; a gala dinner hosted by the Prime Minister on 14 October 2026 at Government House; a Thai identity performance on 15 October 2026; and the plenary session of the World Bank and IMF Boards of Governors on 16 October 2026 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Thailand will host high-level activities under the theme Thailand's New Horizons: Empowering People, Building Resilience, covering four pillars: digital and artificial intelligence transformation; opportunities for middle-sized countries in a multipolar world; building new architecture to support climate change adaptation; and promoting the economy to support an aging society, along with the forums Building Resilience in a Fragmented World and Financing a Resilient Green Economy. The Queen Sirikit National Convention Center has prepared meeting rooms and logistics linking airports, the convention center, the gala venue and accommodation hotels to World Bank and IMF standards.