Saudi ambassador to US Princess Reema named to new IMF advisory council

Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth formed to identify policies to help support innovation

Princess Reema Bandar, Saudi ambassador to the US, at the annual Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh in October 2022. AFP

Princess Reema Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the US, was named on Thursday to a newly created entrepreneurship and growth council at the International Monetary Fund, the Washington-based lender announced.

Princess Reema and eight others were confirmed as members of the fund's Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth, the IMF said. The council's primary goal is to identify policies to create innovation, improve resource allocation and support economic growth through the private sector.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva convened the inaugural meeting with the newly established council on Thursday.

“The medium-term outlook for world economic growth is at its lowest in several decades,” Ms Georgieva said in a news release. “Much of the slowdown can be attributed to declining productivity growth.”

Princess Reema has been the kingdom's ambassador to the US since 2019.

Members on the council will share their views on how entrepreneurship can be promoted by macroeconomic and financial policies, the Washington-based fund said. The advisory council will meet about every quarter in discussions under Chatham House rules.

Other members of the council are: Ufuk Akcigit, an economics professor at the University of Chicago; Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff; Banco Santander executive chairwoman Ana Botin; Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of the Tata Group; Vodafone chief executive Margherita Della Valle; Heirs Holdings founder Tony O Elumelu; Vista Equity Partners founder Robert Smith; and Federico Sturzenegger, Argentina's Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation.

“The Council brings together a group of leading thinkers and practitioners in business, finance, academia and policymaking to share their views and experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity – key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth,” Ms Georgieva said.