Abu Dhabi, 22 March 2015

HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs recently welcomed Dr. Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al-Hamidi, Director General and Chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), at the Ministry's premises in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was also attended by HE Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Undersecretary of the International Financial Relations Sector at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and Ali Hamdan Ahmed, Director of the International and Regional Financial Organisations Department at MoF. The two parties discussed means of strengthening bilateral ties and joint work between the UAE and other Arab countries through the AMF.

The meeting between the two parties involved discussions about the agenda of the Joint Annual Meeting of the Arab Financial Institutions, which will be held between the 7th and 8th of April 2015 in Kuwait; and during which the UAE will be leading the 38th Meeting of the Board of Governors of the AMF. The two parties also discussed the agenda of the Sixth Ordinary Session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Finance, which will be held alongside the annual joint Arab Financial Institutions meeting in Kuwait. The Session will be held to discuss the Council's work processes and future steps towards further supporting economic development in Arab countries.

HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer reviewed the AMF's 2015-2020 strategic plan, which aims to expand the AMF's activities and initiatives, through strengthening the Fund's role in supporting financial, economic and monetary integration across Arab countries and positioning it as a centre of knowledge, experience, technical support and capacity building. HE Dr. Abdulrahman Bin Abdullah Al-Hamidi also stressed the importance of the Fund's corporate governance report, which will support the implementation of internationally recognised principles and standards.

HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer emphasised the AMF's role in helping Arab countries to achieve their social and economic and development goals, implement reforms across economic, financial and monetary sectors and contribute to eliminating unemployment and encouraging trade in Arab countries in the region. HE also highlighted the UAE's commitment to enhance joint economic cooperation with different Arab countries, as well as support and develop the Fund's operations.

The AMF's headquarters are located in Abu Dhabi. Since its establishment, the Fund has offered 170 loans worth 1.76 billion Arab Accounting Dinars, which is the equivalent of $7.6 billion US Dollars. 14 Member States of the Fund have benefited from these loans.

The UAE is considered as one of the key contributors to the AMF's capital, having provided 900 billion Arab Accounting Dinars, which represents 5.88% of the total subscribed capital.

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© Press Release 2015