UAE minister elected chairman of World Bank-IMF development committee

Panel aims to achieve international co-operation on issues related to economic development of developing countries

Mohamed Al Hussaini, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, has been elected chairman of the development committee of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. Wam

Mohamed Al Hussaini, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, has been elected chairman of the development committee (DC) of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to state news agency Wam.

The DC is a joint ministerial committee of the boards of governors of the WBG and the IMF and aims to achieve international co-operation and consensus on issues related to development, the Wam report said.

During his two-year tenure, Mr Al Hussaini will work with the committee’s members to manage programmes related to the sustainable economic development of developing countries.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, described the minister as an “important part of the government’s work team”.

“The arrival of any Emirati to the world is a vote for the Emirates and a consolidation of its international role in all fields,” he tweeted on Saturday.

The IMF cut its growth forecast for 2023 and warned of a cost of living crisis as the global economy continues to be affected by the war in Ukraine, broadening inflation pressures and a slowdown in China.

The fund maintained its global economic estimate for this year at 3.2 per cent but downgraded next year’s forecast to 2.7 per cent — 0.2 percentage points lower than the July forecast.

Emerging market and developing economies are now projected to grow 3.7 per cent this year, down from 6.6 per cent in 2021, it said in its World Economic Outlook report released last week.

The World Bank slashed its growth forecast for the global economy for the second time this year in June. The lender lowered its growth estimate for 2022 to 2.9 per cent, from the 3.2 per cent projection it issued in April.

Meanwhile, Mr Al Hussaini thanked the member states and the WBG for electing him as the chairman and stressed the UAE’s keenness on co-operating and co-ordinating with its strategic partners and all international organisations to enable comprehensive and sustainable development at all levels.

The DC was established in 1974 and was previously known as the joint ministerial committee of the boards of governors of the bank and fund. It comprises 25 members from the finance or development ministries of members of the WBG and the IMF.

The committee is mandated to address a range of issues, including, but not limited to, the role of the IMF and WBG in confronting future crises, digitalisation, the green economy, trade, industrial policies and poverty, according to Wam.

The committee advises the boards of governors of the bank and the fund on critical development issues and on the financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries.

Azucena Arbeleche was previous chair, since October 2021. She is the Minister of Economy and Finance of Uruguay and was the first woman to hold the position, according to the WBG and IMF.

The chair is selected from the committee’s members and is assisted by an executive secretary who is elected by the members.

The committee meets twice a year: in the spring and autumn at the time of the joint bank-fund annual meetings. Its meetings are held in tandem with the meetings of the International Monetary and Finance Committee of the IMF.