The annual meeting of the two biggest global financial institutions has ended without a much-needed consensus to achieve economic recovery and international cooperation to tackle poverty, inflation, debt and climate change.
The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank met in Marrakech and could not make meaningful progress toward the reform needed to fulfil these vital objectives.
Disagreements between the nations the world needs to drive change are worsening as the Middle East slides into a new phase of war and conflict.
The G20 disagrees on the war in Gaza and who is responsible for it. There has been no joint statement from the group on the situation in the Middle East, which points to fragmentation within it, or at least a rift on how to deal with the crisis in the region.
The disagreement is likely between the members of the G7 and the rest of the wider G20, as the established world order favouring the West clashes with the rising powers that will define the next phase in global development.
The crisis in Gaza is making these divisions more apparent. Some comments compared the current situation to the October War of 1973 and its impact on the economy, prices, and growth. Russia, China, and Turkey supported the Arab position, while the United States, the G7, and India supported pro-Israel positions.
Read more: Where do China and India stand on Israel's war on Gaza?
Whatever else, the split is making the breakthroughs over international institutions on which proper progress depends all the more difficult to achieve. And the IMF and the World Bank, caught in this stasis, are at the forefront of the need for reform.
Weak growth and great risks
The IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has described Israel's war on Gaza as "another source of uncertainty" for the global economy.
It stands alongside the war between Russia and Ukraine, rising interest rates, inflation and the economic slowdown on the list of risks.
A similar concern was expressed by Japan’s Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, who pointed to potential worldwide economic repercussions.