DOHA: Qatar, along with four other GCC countries, has told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it is looking for the Fund’s help to develop a better ‘inclusive development strategy’.
Speaking on behalf of Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and seven other countries in the Arab region plus Maldives, Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, the Minister of state for Financial Affairs for UAE, stated at the International Monetary and Financial Committee Meeting in Washington yesterday these countries are engaged in creating an inclusive development strategy. The countries need the Fund to support their future policy analysis and advice, which according to the Group would provide deeper country-specific analysis of policy options.
“Quantitative analysis of the distributional and growth impact of fiscal measures would be welcome, in collaboration with country authorities. We agree with the Fund’s view that domestic reform efforts can be supported by the international community through financing, investments, and enhanced access to markets.”, Al Tayer said.
The Group countries stated that it valued the timely provision of technical assistance from the Fund to the countries which helps underpin crucial policy reforms. Given the importance of financial deepening for inclusive growth, we encourage IMF support of domestic efforts to achieve more financial integration, deepen local currency financial markets, and develop non-banking financial institutions and sectors.
“We appreciate IMF contributions to the ArabStat initiative to enhance the provision of statistics in the region as this will undoubtedly underpin sound policy formulation. We welcome the call for a balanced policy dialogue that takes account of country perspectives as highlighted in the recently completed Triennial Surveillance Review.”, Al Tayer said.
For the oil-exporting countries in the Group, higher oil production and government spending have underpinned economic activity in 2014. The GCC countries continue to exhibit robust growth in the non-oil sector, expected to remain around 6 percent in 2014-15, while oil GDP growth has tapered in line with modest increases in global demand and rising supply in North America. These countries are pursuing strategies to rebalance growth towards more productive public spending and to strengthen the non-oil fiscal balance consistent with the objective of preserving the oil wealth for future generations, he noted.
Al Tayer stated that the emerging market economies (EMEs) continue to be the main drivers of world growth, but they face slower growth prospects compared to pre-crisis levels and remain vulnerable to market volatility. Some of the capital flows that helped buoy those economies may well reverse direction with the normalisation of monetary policy in major advanced economies (AEs). Efforts in these countries should continue to focus on strengthening fundamentals, policy buffers and implementing efficient macroprudential policies, which will mitigate the potential impact of higher interest rates and tighter external financing conditions.
The Group welcomed the Fund’s support for Arab Countries in Transition (ACTs) and substantial donor support from the region and called on the Fund to scale up assistance to these countries.
Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya are among other countries in the Group.The Peninsula
