AMF extends $1.3b in financial facilities to Arab countries in H1

Dr Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al Hamidi, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), highlighted the fund’s keenness to respond to the needs of Arab countries during the coronavirus pandemic, by providing financial resources to member countries in the form of new loans or withdrawals on existing loans.

These financial measures, which will tackle the economic and financial consequences of the pandemic, were valued at $1.3 billion in the first half of 2020, he added.

In his opening speech at the 44th edition of the Council of Governors of the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Authorities, which was held remotely this year, Dr. Al Hamidi said, “The global economy is facing the worst economic crisis after the Great Depression caused by a variety of factors, most notably the implications of the coronavirus pandemic, growing trade tensions between major economies and rising debt levels, which have affected both advanced and developing economies and are reflected in forecasts related to global economic growth that predict a recession in 2020, with a global economic decline of 0.5 per cent, or 0.8 per cent for advanced economies and 0.3 percent for emerging and developing economies.”

The meeting was attended by governors of central banks and Arab monetary foundations, as well as senior officials from European Central Bank, ECB, Bank for International Settlements, BIS, International Monetary Fund, IMF, World Bank, WB, Bank of France, and the Financial Action Task Force, FATF.

It was also attended by representatives of the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC, Secretariat-General, the Union of Arab Banks, the Union of Arab Securities Authorities, and the Financial Action Task Force in the Middle East and North Africa as observers, in addition to Arab executive directors from the IMF and WB.

Al Hamidi noted that AMF statistics highlight an overall economic decline in Arab countries of 0.4 percent in 2020, compared to a growth of 1.6 per cent in 2019, resulting from the pandemic.

Arab Monetary Fund has recently extended a new automatic loan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with an amount of Arab Accounting Dinar 10 million, the equivalent of approximately $41 million, in face of current circumstances.

The agreement was signed by Dr Mohamad Al Ississ, Minister of Finance, on behalf of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and Dr Abdulrahman A Al Hamidy, Director-General Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the AMF, on behalf of the AMF, with the aim to provide financial support to strengthen the Kingdom’s financial position and meet emergency needs.

The AMF is keen to support the efforts of its member countries to implement economic, financial and structural reforms, in face of various challenges, through a number of means, including financing the needs of the balance of payments and public budgets, and financing trade through its affiliate the Arab Trade Financing Programme, in addition to its role in promoting policy dialogue and consultation on economic, financial and development issues via its various forums and activities, providing technical advice to member countries in the field of economic, fiscal and financial policies, and providing training for government officials in member countries through its Institute for Training and Capacity Building.

The AMF is also keen to provide financial and technical support to its member countries during this period in particular, in light of the developments taking place due to the COVID-19, and the ensuing economic and financial repercussions in different aspects. The AMF assistance in this regard comes as a support to the reform efforts of member countries and the measures they are taking to stimulate the economy and provide liquidity in order to contain the negative effects of the virus outbreak.

The AMF follows closely the developments of the Jordanian economy and the challenges it faces due to the current circumstances and works through a fruitful partnership with the Jordanian government to help the country contain the different challenges in the most effective way. In this respect, the AMF disbursed on May 14, 2020, to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the second tranche of the loan within the framework of the Structural Adjustment Facility in the Financial and Banking Sector, contracted with the Jordanian government on February 14, 2019. The tranche amounts to Arab Accounting Dinar 9.2 million, the equivalent of approximately $38 million, aiming to avail resources to help the country implement economic and financial reforms, while strengthening its resilience to various challenges.

WAM