UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer participated in the recently held spring meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) convened in a virtual format together with the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group during April 5 to 11 2021.
Ministers of Finance and development, Central Bankers, representatives of civil society organisations and private sector executives attended this meeting to discuss global economic concerns, the latest global economic developments and the financial and economic outlook due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The agenda of the meeting also included poverty eradication, the effectiveness of financial aids, global economic and financial systems including issues of high debt risks and international economic and development policies.
The Minister of State for Financial Affairs emphasized UAE’s resolve to work hand in hand with the international communities to overcome the risks and challenges posed by the pandemic and ensure sustainable economic recovery and growth.
Abdulhamid Saeed, Governor of the UAE Central Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, and many finance ministers from different countries also took part in this meeting.
Al Tayer appreciated IMF’s initiatives and timely interventions for world economic recovery with a revised growth prospect of six per cent for 2021 globally from a negative growth experienced during the previous year that also supported more foreign company formation in Dubai.
The minister also echoed similar concerns as reflected by IMF over the possibility of an imbalanced economic recovery in the Mena region widening the inequality gap arising out of disproportionate economic and social effects and stressed upon fiscal priorities aimed for achieving inclusive sustainable economic development.
“We welcome the Global Policy Agenda devised by Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, as a comprehensive framework for recovery. The UAE will continue supporting the IMF’s endeavours to mitigate the financial and economic repercussions of the pandemic to achieve global recovery and attain strong, sustainable, balanced and comprehensive economic growth,” he remarked.
Al Tayer added that healthcare continued to be the topmost priority including production and distribution of vaccines for speedy economic recovery. He also informed that USE joined the global efforts to develop and produce covid 19 vaccines with a targeted figure of 200 million doses of Hayat-Vax vaccine annually.
The minister welcomed the initiative of IMF to reallocate Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for middle and low-income countries as it would help them to fund healthcare systems and take preventive measures against the virus. He also appealed for increased lending and technological support to these countries.
He also noted, “Beyond just recovery, we must pursue socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable models of growth as the only path forward in the post-COVID-19 era, where the IMF can support by facilitating the exchange of expertise, supporting capacity building, and enabling funding efforts.”
Al Tayer added: “As a general principle, we urge the IMF to advance its climate agenda in accordance to the Paris Agreement, which enjoys multilateral consensus, by supporting countries to achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions, while considering their national circumstances and development priorities.”
UAE has taken several social, economic and political measures to mitigate the adverse effects of the pandemic and has demonstrated its commitment by promoting new business set up in Dubai, he highlighted. He also made some additional recommendations including maintenance of a strong, adequately resourced and quota-based fund and highlighted the need for transparent communication to win and maintain public trust.
The IMF Board of Governors responsible for monitoring and management of the world financial and monetary system and timely actions on disruptive issues e.g. covid 19 pandemics are provided with appropriate reports and suggestions during the IMFC meetings.
