At a time of mounting debt pressures, constrained development resources and growing demands on international financial institutions, the 2026 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok are an important opportunity for National Civil Society Platforms and Regional Coalitions to influence how development is financed, whose priorities shape those decisions, and how institutions can be held accountable for their impacts on people and communities. For the Forus network, Bangkok is also an opportunity to build momentum towards upcoming financing processes, such as the sixth Finance in Common Summit and the 2027 ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-Up (FfD Forum) in 2027. 

The 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group will take place from 12 to 18 October in Bangkok, Thailand. The agenda for the 2026 Annual Meetings will cover a broad range of issues, including global economic growth and stability; jobs and private investment; AI, technology and productivity; poverty reduction and inclusive growth; resilience to economic, climate and other shocks; debt and fiscal sustainability; and climate and sustainable development.  

For Forus and its members, these discussions go to the heart of our work on who has a say in development finance and how those decisions affect people and communities. We are particularly focused on how decisions on debt, social protection, climate resilience and public investment are made; whether affected communities and civil society have meaningful opportunities to shape them, and how Public Development Banks (PDBs) and international financial institutions can strengthen transparency, accountability, locally-led development and participation – especially in the framework of the newly launched PDB-CSO coalition co-chaired by Forus. 

From Bangkok to 2027: building momentum for fairer development finance 

Thailand will host not only the 2026 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings, but also the sixth Finance in Common Summit (FiCS), from 31 March to 2 April 2027. The Summit will be the first Finance in Common Summit to take place in Asia and will bring together the global community of Public Development Banks around the theme “Delivering Sustainable Growth for a More Resilient Future.” 

The 2027 Summit will focus on three key areas: 

Forus sees an important opportunity to connect the conversations taking place at the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings with the priorities and discussions that will shape FiCS 2027 — ensuring that civil society perspectiveare shaping conversations from the outset. 

Through the PDB-CSO Coalition co-chaired by Forus, we will continue working to strengthen civil society participation and push for greater transparency, accountability, human rights and meaningful engagement of communities in the way public development finance is designed and delivered. 

From 19 to 23 April 2027, the ECOSOC Forum on Financing for Development Follow-up at UN Headquarters will provide another key opportunity to advance the global Financing for Development agenda. The Forum is a central intergovernmental mechanism for following up on Financing for Development commitments and for assessing progress on mobilising the resources needed to achieve sustainable development. 

This will be an important opportunity to carry forward implementation of commitments emerging from the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, including on debt and debt sustainability, international development cooperation, domestic public resources and the wider reform of the international financial architecture. 

The pathway does not end in Bangkok. It also leads towards the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Annual Meeting in Tokyo in May 2027, creating a wider opportunity for Forus members and partners to engage with the institutions shaping development finance in Asia. 

Forus will work with members and allies to connect these processes rather than approach them in isolation, bringing evidence and priorities from national and regional realities into global debates, strengthening civil society influence across institutions, and carrying global commitments back into national advocacy. 

Strengthening civil society engagement 

Forus’ engagement in Bangkok will build on the expertise, priorities and relationships of members and civil society partners across regions, with a particular focus on Asia. 

Forus members including Bond (UK), Infid (Indonesia), JANIC (Japan), NFN (Nepal), the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND) and the Asia Development Alliance (ADA) will bring the network's priorities into relevant spaces, including discussions on debt, social protection, development finance and resilience, as well as on strengthening SDR channelling and reforming IMF quotas and financing shock-responsive, state-led social protection systems.  

Forus members and partners will also be present in the World Bank–IMF Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF), which will take place at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). Among the sessions taking place during the Forum is “Make ‘Health Works’ Really Work for People’s Health: the Role of Civil Society and Communities”, organised by Africa Japan Forum, a member of Forus member JANIC, together with health groups. 

The Annual Meetings will also provide opportunities to strengthen our network's connections with civil society networks working on development finance and accountability —including the CSO Informal Mechanism on Finance in Common, and civil society networks engaging the World Bank and IMF — and to identify areas for joint advocacy beyond Bangkok. 

Several of Forus members as well as Financing for Sustainable Development Coordinator, Marianne Buenaventura Goldman, will be in Bangkok to connect the network’s perspectives across the different discussions, strengthen alliances with development finance and economic justice networks, and help carry lessons and priorities forward towards FiCS 2027, the Financing for Development process and other upcoming advocacy opportunities. 

Across these spaces, Forus will be listening to and amplifying the perspectives of members and partners, while connecting the debates in Bangkok with the network’s wider work to advance just and accountable financing for sustainable development — financing that expands an enabling environment for civil society, responds to national and local realities, and is shaped by the people and communities it is intended to serve. 

Below you can find a selection of events where Forus members and partners will be active which will be updated continuously. Will you be in Bangkok? Feel free to reach out to Marianne Buenaventura Goldman, Forus Financing for Sustainable Development Coordinator at marianne[at]forus-international.org 

For media requests and communications actions in Bangkok feel free to reach out to Bibbi Abruzzini, Forus Communications lead at bibbi[@forus-international.org