On 15 October 2026, Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, and European Commissioner for Implementation and Simplification, took part in the annual meeting of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. 

During the event, the Commissioner participated in the panel discussion titled ‘From Security to Prosperity: The Macroeconomic Case for Commodity Security’, alongside Mark Bowman, Vice-President for Policy and Partnerships at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Aparna Bharadwaj, Global Leader at the Boston Consulting Group (BSG), and Mateusz Szczurek, Director of the European Department at the IMF. 

The panel covered the balance between hope and fear, and between pursuing growth and managing risk. Three main topics were discussed: the EU’s role in sustaining globalisation, the vulnerability of concentrated critical mineral and energy supply chains, and the growing importance of Global South nations. 

This video shows extracts from the conference.