Commonwealth Finance Ministers’ Meeting (CFMM) at the 2025 World Bank-International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting, Washington DC.
13 October 2025
On the opening day of the 2025 World Bank- International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings, Prime Minister, Hon Dr ‘Aisake Valu Eke, joined the other Commonwealth member countries in attending the Commonwealth Finance Ministers' Meeting (CFMM). The theme for this year’s CFMM is ‘Strengthening Economic Resilience Amidst the International Policy Shifts’.
The theme underscores the collective challenges currently experienced by the commonwealth member countries, due to escalating geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, and shifts in aid and trade policies, which hinder economic recovery from COVID-19 and exacerbate existing structural and institutional vulnerabilities. For small states and Least Developed Countries, such as Tonga, the impact could be severe – due to its smallness in size and location, their development trajectory is shaped by factors often beyond their ability to weather the challenges.
In response, the Commonwealth in its Bridgetown Initiative is calling for comprehensive reforms to the global financial architecture to be more supportive in enabling access to affordable financing, enhancement of debt sustainability, and mobilizing climate finance – for faster recovery and sustainable development. Thus, encouraging Ministers to explore and share innovative and practical solutions for strengthening economic resilience – with an emphasis on: “Economic growth should be at the heart of what the Commonwealth does”. The member countries welcomed the timely and relevant initiative – supporting peer learning and knowledge sharing of country experiences, international best practice, and optimization of innovative solutions opportunity.
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