Alarm is rising over Washington's potential withdrawal from global institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, with the no-show of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at G20 meetings adding to anxiety.

Both institutions, at the behest of their biggest shareholder, the United States, had backed countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Jordan, where the U.S. has strategic interests, said Mark Sobel, the U.S. chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF), a veteran Treasury Department official and former IMF board member.

Concerns over the US potentially stepping back from global institutions like the IMF and World Bank have increased, especially with the Treasury Secretary missing recent G20 meetings. Withdrawal could weaken these institutions,

The Loft of Shared Dreams in Davos underscored the need for collective vision and collaboration to address global issues, transform industries and redefine success.

The debt crisis facing the world's poorest economies is reaching new highs and debt servicing is eating up a growing share of revenues at the expense of spending on development, the United Nations Development Programme warned on Tuesday.

The IMF said economic growth averaged 4.3 percent since growth resumed in the third quarter of 2023. By end-2024, Sri Lanka's real GDP is estimated to have recovered 40 percent of its losses incurred between 2018 and 2023. The recovery is expected to continue in 2025, the IMF said.

The US and its allies established the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank after World War II to promote global economic stability and prevent future conflicts. However, speculation about Washington’s potential withdrawal from global financial institutions has grown,

Experts say Washington’s withdrawal would be a ‘disaster’ for its global influence, but it may prove to be ‘a gift to China’

A founder member, the US holds the largest single share of each institution - just over 16% for IMF and just under that for the World Bank. Ratings agencies have warned US withdrawal could put multilateral lenders' coveted triple-A credit ratings at risk.