Klingbeil at the IMF in Bangkok: Germany is "back" on growth
The finance minister is counting on the special infrastructure fund to drive the economy and speaks of cautious optimism. He did not talk to Russia's finance minister at the G20 meeting.
Archive image · Photo: Michael Lucan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) believes Germany is once again seen internationally as a growing economy. On the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bangkok, he said people abroad also recognise that Germany is back when it comes to economic growth. The backdrop is the IMF's raised forecast: it now expects German growth of 1.3 percent instead of 0.7 percent in 2026 and 1.1 percent in 2027. The federal government also expects 1.3 percent this year.
Klingbeil named the special fund for infrastructure as the main driver – an impulse that now also has to be used, he said. More private investment, less bureaucracy and more private pension provision are to follow. He spoke of "cautious optimism", partly because exports are picking up, and warned that the government must not let up on reforms. Referring to US trade policy, he said that when one door closes, new ones open. Many countries want closer cooperation with Germany, he added.
In Bangkok, Klingbeil also urged partners outside Europe to help finance Ukraine this year and next. A meeting of G20 finance ministers was also attended by the Russian finance minister. "We did not talk," Klingbeil said, stressing that Russia would not be treated as a normal G20 member at the table with the Europeans.