The UAE’s delegation, headed by HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, took part in the Spring Meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), which was held from April 15-17, 2016 in Washington DC. HE Al Tayer held a number of bilateral meetings with global leaders and experts, in addition to heading the Arab Group at the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC).
The UAE delegation included HE Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Undersecretary of International Financial Relations Sector in the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ali Hamdan Ahmed, Director of International and Regional Financial Organisations Department and Hamad Issa Al Zaabi, Director of the Office of the Minister of State for Financial Affairs.
Bilateral Meetings
HE Al Tayer discussed with Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, a number of key topics to further promote cooperative efforts between the UAE and the IMF. Conversations aimed to encourage the IMF to provide aid to Arab countries to support growth efforts and job creation initiatives, in addition to creating innovative funding mechanisms for the region. Furthermore, Lagarde’s invitation to the upcoming World Government Summit, which will be held in February 2017, was also discussed.
HE Al Tayer also met with Dr. Hazem Al Beblawi, Executive Director of the IMF, where they talked about the topics that were later discussed during the IMFC meeting. They also discussed the IMF’s plans to supports Arab countries moving forward, and agreed that the IMF would share data on the financial aid provided by the Fund to the Arab countries over the past three years.
During his meeting with Dr. Mirza Hassan, Executive Director of the Arab Group at the World Bank, HE Al Tayer discussed the WBG’s new strategy, and methods of enhancing cooperation between the WBG and development funds to support the Arab region. Talks were also held about joint work between the WBG and the initiatives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in addition to the upcoming study to be completed for the UAE on empowering women in the financial and economic sectors.
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