In Washington, finance ministers will face pressure for action to reduce their own debt and offer more resources to poorer nations

Debt, and why governments need to reduce it, will top the agenda at this week’s annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Washington.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world will gather in the US capital alongside thinktank and charity bosses to discuss the state of the global economy and its ability to generate a higher standard of living.