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RIYADH, 4th October, 2022 (WAM) — Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hosseini, Minister of Finance, yesterday led the UAE delegation to the 117th GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Meeting Arab, aimed at discussing the progress of the work on the economic integration of the GCC, as well as some topics related to the customs union and the GCC common market.
The UAE delegation included Ahmad Abdullah Bin Lahej Alfalasi, Director General of the Federal Customs Service; Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Assistant Under-Secretary for International Financial Relations, Ministry of Finance; Ibrahim Al Jarwan, Director General for GCC Affairs, Ministry of Finance; and the Office of the Minister of State for Financial Affairs Director Hamad Al Zaabi.
The ministers of finance of the GCC countries and the secretary-general of the Cooperation Council of the Gulf Arab States also attended the meeting.
Al Hussaini highlighted the UAE’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with the GCC General Secretariat on topics related to GCC economic integration. “The regular meetings of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee are an important platform to discuss the challenges facing the economic sectors of the GCC countries, work towards GCC economic integration and meet the aspirations of GCC leaders and their people , ” He says.
The meeting was aimed at discussing the outcomes of the 79th GCC Central Bank Governors Meeting and the 11th GCC Heads of State Tax Authorities Committee Meeting. The meeting also reviewed the outcomes of the 29th meeting of the GCC Customs Union Administration and the outcomes of the first meeting of the Board of Directors of the GCC Customs Union Administration. In addition, the meeting also discussed the report of the GCC General Secretariat on the remaining steps for the establishment of a customs union and the full implementation of the GCC common market track by the end of 2024 with a specific timetable. . Namely, in addition to the outcome of the 36th meeting of the GCC Common Market Committee and the outcome of the 4th meeting of the Ministry of Finance, to discuss the G20 Financial Track Initiative.
During the meeting, the finance ministers also reviewed the latest status of the signing of the GCC countries’ payment system interconnection agreement, as well as the relevant plans for the GCC countries to achieve economic unification by 2025.
During the meeting, the finance ministers and central bank governors of the GCC countries met with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
During the meeting, Al Hussaini previewed the UAE’s economic policies, COVID-19 strategies, initiatives, plans and recovery, and outlined climate change and energy security, partnerships between the public and private sectors, and the UAE’s achievements in achieving gender equality Progress. “This meeting is particularly important for discussing ways to address global challenges and finding solutions, such as high inflation, tightening global economic conditions, moving away from quantitative easing,” he said.
Regarding the UAE’s economic policy, COVID-19 strategy, initiatives, plans and recovery, he noted that the global economy remains fragile and several challenges must be overcome. Disruptions to global supply chains due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and high energy prices have pushed global inflation to historical levels, exacerbating vulnerabilities in emerging and developing economies. Furthermore, he mentioned the need for international coordination to mitigate the impact of current risks and reduce global imbalances.
Al Hussaini added: “The UAE government has spared no effort to combat the impact of COVID-19 through various economic support programmes catering to businesses, SMEs and financial institutions. In addition, post-COVID-19 programmes and initiatives have been introduced to speed up recovery.”
Al Hussaini also noted that in June 2022, the UAE introduced an inflation-targeted support programme for selected individuals affected by rising costs, in order to improve their quality of life amid high global prices and inflation. Your Excellency also mentioned that the UAE Cabinet approved the issuance of subnational debt of up to AED45 billion, with the main objective of creating a yield curve denominated in AEDs to diversify funding sources.
On climate change and energy security, Al Hussaini stressed that the UAE’s efforts in the energy sector are aimed at ensuring access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services. This is in addition to substantially increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix, and doubling the rate of global energy efficiency improvement. His Excellency also reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to supporting the efforts of the international community to mitigate climate change.
Al Hussaini explained that partnerships, especially between the public and private sectors, remain critical to achieving sustainable and inclusive growth. He also noted that strengthening the role of the private sector in driving growth, job creation and economic diversification has been a priority for the UAE over the past few years.
Regarding the UAE Gender Balance Strategy, he said the UAE has made tremendous progress in achieving gender equality and closing the gender gap at all levels. The UAE ranks 1st regionally and globally in the Gender Inequality Index (GII) of the UNDP Human Development Report 2020. Our strategy and development agenda. Sustainable and inclusive economic prosperity can only be achieved if women participate in the workforce,” Al Hussaini further said.
On the sidelines of the annual meeting, His Excellency the GCC Finance Minister attended a high-level seminar titled “Working together to tackle food insecurity”.
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