The UAE has stressed the need to remain cautious while tackling the ongoing economic uncertainty and the uneven levels of global economic growth at the third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) in Gujarat, India.

 

Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, who led the UAE delegation to the meeting from July 16 to 18, said said that this requires continued global collaboration through the G20 to promote food and energy security, and the prioritisation of policy making to address investment-for-development challenges and to set the stage of the future of the multilateral trade system by developing solutions for economic and development challenges.

 

Regarding climate change, he lauded the G20 and COP28 collaboration on this global priority. He said: “We commend the Group’s dedicated efforts to explore the macroeconomic risks arising from climate change, which were collated from the valuable insights of the Joint G20-COP28 Panel Discussion.”

 

Finance and health collaboration

Regarding finance and health collaboration, Al Hussaini emphasised the importance of considering existing financing solutions, such as The Pandemic Fund at G20, that aim to identify vulnerabilities and risks within global health financing.

 

Lastly, on financial inclusion, Al Hussaini highlighted the important role of developing digital public infrastructure and enhancing financial regulations to expand inclusive financial services.

 

The meetings were attended by ministers of finance and central bank governors of G20 member countries, guest countries, and international financial organisations and institutions. The UAE delegation included Younis Haji Al Khoori, Under-Secretary of Ministry of Finance; Ebrahim Al Zaabi, Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability at the Central Bank of the UAE; Hamad Al Zaabi, Director of the Office of Minister of State for Financial Affairs; Thuraiya Al Hashmi, Director of International Tax Department at the Ministry of Finance; and Fares AlKaabi, Senior Analyst, Research and Statistics Department at the Central Bank of the UAE.

 

On the sidelines of the FMCBG meeting, the UAE delegation attended two side events, the G20 High Level Tax Symposium on Combating Tax Evasion, Corruption and Money Laundering and the G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue - Leveraging Funding and Financing Mechanisms and Approaches for the Cities of Tomorrow.

 

Meetings

Al Khoori met with Elena Flores, Deputy Director-General, European Commission, to align on G20 priorities and showcase UAE’s COP28 agenda and priorities; with Emmanuel Moulin, Director-General of the French Treasury, to discuss global climate finance priorities; with Tatiana Rosito, Secretary for International Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, to discuss areas of collaboration regarding the Brazilian Presidency of the G20 in 2024.

 

At the end of the third G20 FMCBG meeting, the ministers and governors reiterated their commitment to the G20 priorities and agreed to review the final outcomes for the year during the next meeting, which will be held in Marrakesh on October 12 and 13, 2023.-- TradeArabia News Service