The UAE's Minister of State for Financial Affairs, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, recently took part in a virtual International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) meeting, which coincided with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group annual meetings. The meeting discussed recent global economic trends, and the financial and economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and problems such as poverty and high debt risks, and many other topics concerning international economic and development agendas.

As the new global growth forecasts were updated upwards to 6% for 2021, Al Tayer praised the IMF's efforts to achieve global economic recovery. This is a great indicator of the Fund's members' decisive and coordinated efforts to keep economies afloat and alleviate the effects of the ongoing global health crisis.

The UAE, according to Al Tayer, shares the IMF's concerns about the potential for an unbalanced, K-shaped rebound, especially in the Mena region. Inequality would grow as a result of the pandemic's unequal economic and social impact. This justifies continued attention from all relevant parties, for balancing medium-term fiscal priorities with inclusive development goals.

“We welcome Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, for developing the Global Policy Agenda as a holistic mechanism for recovery,” he said.

The UAE will keep supporting the IMF's efforts to mitigate the pandemic's financial and economic consequences so that the world can recover and achieve solid, sustainable, healthy, and comprehensive economic growth.”

Al Tayer stated that the health response will continue to be a top priority that will encourage development. The vaccine's development and delivery are also critical to ensuring a quick and long-term recovery. According to His Excellency, the UAE has recently entered global efforts to produce the COVID-19 vaccine, with a goal to deliver 200 million doses of the Hayat-Vax vaccine per year.

He also stated that middle-income countries are grappling with the necessity to maintain healthcare funding and preventive measures. These needs have already begun to drain fiscal resources and reveal debt risks due to a lack of concessional funding sources.

The Fund should use all of its resources, including lending, surveillance, and technical assistance, to achieve this goal. In this regard, he further mentioned that the UAE welcomes the reallocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs).

“We must follow socially inclusive and ecologically sustainable growth strategies as it’s the only way forward in the post-COVID-19 period, where the IMF can help by promoting the exchange of skills, encouraging capacity building, and facilitating funding initiatives." Al Tayer said.

“As a general concept, we encourage the IMF to advance its climate agenda in line with the Paris Agreement, which has bipartisan support, by assisting countries in meeting their Nationally Determined Contributions while taking into account their national situations and development goals,” Al Tayer added.

The IMFC meetings are held following the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, during which the IMF Board of Governors receives guidance and updates on the regulation and management of the international financial and financial system, and responses to current events that may threaten it.

Following last year's 3.5 % contraction, the IMF said it would increase its estimate for global economic growth in 2021 and 2022, but financial circumstances remain highly unpredictable, according to IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

Governments invested $16 trillion on fiscal policies to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize its economic effects, Georgieva said, putting the global economy on a more solid footing. However, trends are deviating in perilous ways through continents, countries, and even countries.

Georgieva spoke to the Council on Foreign Relations ahead of the publication of the fund's revised World Economic Outlook next week, saying that “Vaccines are not yet accessible to all people in all places and many people continue to face job losses and increasing poverty. Many countries are still lagging.”

Georgieva said the world was at a critical juncture, similar to when the IMF and World Bank were established in 1945. She pleaded for a continuous strong measure to defend the recovery, increase vaccine production and delivery, and invest in new green and digital infrastructure.