US Treasury chief Bessent to skip IMF annual meetings in Bangkok

The conference logo of the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings 2026 is displayed on a wall backdrop inside a meeting room at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in Bangkok on October 9, 2026. — AFP pic

First Published: Saturday, 10 Oct 2026 11:58 AM MYT

WASHINGTON, Oct 10 — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend the IMF and World Bank’s annual meetings in Bangkok next week, a department official confirmed yesterday, as domestic pressures grow over war with Iran and bond yields remain elevated.

Bessent was expected to chair a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on Thursday, with the United States holding the rotating presidency of the grouping.

But the Treasury Department said that Deputy Treasury Secretary Francis Brooke and Under Secretary for International Affairs Erin Browne will instead lead the US delegation.

A US official added that Bessent has “domestic engagements,” without providing further details.

The annual meetings, held outside the International Monetary Fund’s Washington headquarters once every three years, come weeks before key US midterm elections this time.

President Donald Trump’s Republican Party will be trying to retain control of Congress in the November vote, amid growing voter worries over affordability.

Americans are feeling the squeeze from rising energy costs following war in the Middle East, which erupted after US-Israel strikes from late February that targeted Iran. Tehran has since choked off the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices rocketing.

Bessent also did not travel to Cape Town for a G20 meeting last year.

His predecessors Janet Yellen and Steven Mnuchin previously attended the IMF’s annual meetings in Marrakech and Bali respectively.

US officials will work with partners in Bangkok to address “policies and structural imbalances that have held back growth and contributed to persistent global imbalances,” the Treasury Department said.

Officials will also seek “greater transparency and more effective approaches to sovereign debt,” the agency added. — AFP