UAE keen to enhance cooperation with various financial institutions

Mohamed Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, on Tuesday met with Dr Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Finance Headquarters in Dubai, discussed the opportunities and challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa region in light of the current global developments, and a number of issues and topics of common interest.

The meeting was attended by Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Assistant Under-Secretary of the International Financial Relationship Sector at Ministry of Finance (MoF), and Moza Saeed Almatrooshi, Head of the International Organisations Department at MoF.

Representing the IMF was Ali Al Eyd, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV Consultations’ Mission Chief, and Francisco Parodi, Assistant to the Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department.

During the meeting, Al Hussaini underscored the importance of the role that the IMF plays in enhancing the safety of the global economy and creating a stable economic and financial environment, especially in light of the exceptional circumstances the world is witnessing.

“The UAE is keen to develop bilateral relations and enhance cooperation with various regional and international financial institutions such as the IMF. This cooperation will drive growth and accelerate global economic recovery. It will also contribute to supporting various plans and directions aimed at achieving sustainable economic and social development regionally and globally,” he said.

During the meeting, both parties also deliberated ways to strengthen the strategic relations between the UAE and the IMF, highlighting the need to continue work and coordination in various related events.

These will include the upcoming World Governments Summit and 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will be held in the UAE in 2023. That, in addition to the Annual and Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, as well as ways to support the IMF in the field of capacity development.

Meanwhile the Department of Community Development (DCD) organised a panel discussion highlighting the concepts of financial culture and savings, coinciding with World Savings Day.

The session, which was hosted by the Youth Centre in Abu Dhabi, was attended by Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, DCD Chairman; Hamad Ali Mohammed Al Dhaheri, Under-Secretary of DCD; Rashid Atiq Al Hameli, Director-General of Social Care and Minors Affairs Foundation in Abu Dhabi; Sarah Shuhail, Director-General of Ewaal; Salama Al Ameemi, Director-General, Ma’an; and Sana Mohamed Suhail, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority (ECA); as well as various representatives of the social sector in Abu Dhabi.

The Panel discussion aimed at raising awareness on the values of savings and encourage a culture of smart financial management in the society.

The session also aimed at building the foundations of a smart financial planning to help family members in the face of debts and its effects, By educating society members with the requisite skills in saving to attain a long-term financial stability, by educating society members with the requisite skills in saving to attain a long-term financial stability,

The discussion further highlighted on various initiatives, as well as the efforts of several organisations that relentlessly strive to educate people in the field of financial education.

Dr. Layla Alhyas, Executive Director of the Community Development Sector at DCD, underlined that the entity works closely with its partners to promote financial literacy and foster a culture of savings among the community’s residents.

“This is in line with Abu Dhabi’s social sector agendas for accomplishing strategic goals, which include raising the quality of life for different categories of the society and providing them ample resources to deal with the challenges of daily life,‘’ she said.

She also emphasised the need of efficiently understanding financial culture principles to improve the standard of living as well as develop the community,”.

Alhyas further noted that they have been able to assess the levels of financial literacy of the families in the Emirate, through its “Quality of Life” questionnaire that had been introduced over the previous three years.

Alhyas added that the DCD is committed to educating the society about financial culture as a crucial strategy in achieving overall prosperity for families as well as the community, highlighting that DCD continues to work closely with its partners to support projects and initiatives that are aimed at encouraging financial literacy as well as smart financial planning among families, in addition to educating them about successful debt management, and pension planning.

WAM