European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has called for stronger protection of central bank independence worldwide, warning that monetary authorities are facing increasing political and economic pressures.

Speaking on Thursday at a conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, she said the key challenge is no longer simply securing independence for central banks, but ensuring that it can be upheld when it comes under strain.

“The question is no longer simply how to guarantee independence,” she said. “It is how to protect it when it is put to the test.”

Lagarde added that central banks in emerging markets and developing economies have long operated under tougher conditions, and said advanced economies could draw lessons from their experience in managing such pressures.

“We have more to learn from your experience than the other way around,” she told central bankers from parts of the Middle East and West Africa attending the conference.

Her remarks come amid growing concerns about political interference in monetary policy, particularly in the United States, where President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the Federal Reserve System over its interest rate decisions.

She also pointed to lessons from the 1970s oil shock and the era of stagflation, arguing that historical evidence shows countries with less independent central banks tended to experience higher inflation.

“This evidence underscored the need to shield monetary policy decisions from the electoral cycle,” she said.

According to her, central banks must maintain a careful balance—remaining close enough to governments to serve the public interest, while preserving sufficient autonomy to withstand political pressure.

“To best serve the public interest, a central bank must be close enough to the state — but independent enough to resist the pressures of the moment,” she noted.