Since its inception in 2009 in Cusco, the Annual Conference has established itself as a regular event for discussing pressing policy issues among central banks and leading experts from academia and the private sector. The current global context provides a crucial backdrop to continue and strengthen this valuable exchange of ideas in the collegial atmosphere of the Sacred Valley. Indeed, as the world economy faces unprecedented shifts, the dynamics of global trade, exchange rates and capital flows are evolving in ways that challenge established economic theory and policy frameworks. Rising geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation and changing approaches to trade policy and financial regulation are reshaping global integration, labor and capital mobility, and currency stability in ways that will have major global implications for the world and for the region. With slower growth and limited fiscal space, economies are now more vulnerable to external shocks such as unexpected shifts in monetary policy, commodity price swings, extreme weather and financial market volatility.