Pakistan to chair World Bank and IMF governors' boards in 2027

Pakistan will chair the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in 2027, with Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema named as the incoming chair.

The announcement was made during the plenary session of the 2026 World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings in Bangkok. Pakistan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said the appointment marks the country’s return to the chairmanship for the first time since 1953.

Cheema, who serves as Pakistan’s governor to the World Bank Group, received a briefing from the institution’s Corporate Secretariat on the role and preparations for the term. He also met the outgoing chair, Carlos Carvallo Spalding, governor of Paraguay’s central bank, to discuss the responsibilities and priorities associated with the office.

The Boards of Governors represent the member countries of the two institutions and provide their broad policy direction. The World Bank describes its governors as its ultimate policymakers, while its president, management and executive directors oversee day-to-day operations and specific financing decisions.

The chairmanship will provide Pakistan a platform to help guide discussions among member countries on global economic and development issues. It does not give Pakistan unilateral authority over loans, grants or institutional policy, which are decided through the World Bank and IMF’s established governance procedures.

During engagements in Bangkok, Cheema said Pakistan would support stronger representation for developing countries, predictable development financing and closer coordination among multilateral institutions. The 2027 term will take place as governments face pressure from high borrowing costs, climate shocks and widening development-financing gaps.

For Pakistan, the post creates an opportunity to raise issues affecting developing economies in a formal international forum. Its influence will depend on building agreement with other member countries and translating those discussions into collective decisions.