MoF concludes consultation meetings with IMF on 2015's Article IV

(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) The Ministry of Finance, MoF, has concluded its consultation meetings on Article IV of the International Monetary Fund's Article of Agreement, with the IMF mission specialised in the assessment of the economic and financial performance of member states. The IMF mission issued an annual statement on the results of the consultations with concerned entities within the UAE.

During their visit to the UAE, the IMF mission met with Obaid bin Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Mubarak Al Mansouri, Governor of the UAE Central Bank. The IMF mission also met with the heads of finance departments, economic development departments within the UAE, in addition to a number of senior government officials and representatives of business and financial communities in the country.

Younis Haji Al Khoori, Under-Secretary of the MoF, headed the UAE delegation during the meeting with the IMF mission. The UAE delegation included Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Under-Secretary of International Financial Relations at MoF, Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Under-Secretary of Resources and Budget Sector at MoF, and Mariam Mohammad Al Amiri, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Management of Financial Resources at MoF, in addition to a number of Ministry employees.

The IMF mission was led by Zeine Zeidane, Advisor at the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF.

Commenting on the meetings, Mr. Al Khoori said, "Year after year, the Ministry was able to maximise the benefits from those joint negotiations and meetings, which gather our specialists with their counterparts from the IMF and organisations working under it. The Ministry continues to improve the mechanisms and government financial work methods as per the IMF's recommendations and in line with international standards in this field."

He added, "The Ministry disseminates a report on the results of Article IV's negotiations on an annual basis to all the concerned authorities within the UAE. This report will serve as reference point for the Ministry in order to improve and develop its future work plans, and in turn ensure the solidity and quality of the government financial and economic sector within the UAE."

During the meeting with the IMF mission, MoF's work team reviewed its latest project developments including the e-Dirham system, the shift from cash basis to an accrual basis system, the budget cycle for 2014-2016, registration of assets and other related projects.

The IMF mission emphasised the UAE's efforts to maintain strong economic growth. The mission also highlighted the importance of the steps taken by the federal government in terms of the country's fiscal and monetary policies as well as macro-economic policies - which have continuously helped with the UAE's economic recovery, strengthening the banking sector by supporting liquidity, re-capitalisation and deposit guarantee.

The IMF's mission stated that despite the decline in oil prices in recent years and weak global economic performance, the UAE was able to maintain flexible economic growth rates and enjoys a position as a safe haven to surrounding countries who are undergoing different issues. The cash reserve in the UAE's foreign accounts considerably limited the negative effects of decreases in oil prices, slow emerging market growth and volatility.

The report also showed that the UAE's non-oil economic factors recorded strong growth in 2014 of 4.8%, mainly driven by construction projects and capital spending within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The growth was strongly backed sectors such as transportation and hospitality in the Emirate of Dubai, while the oil sector represented a 4% increase rate.

The IMF mission's recommendations to the UAE included the need to maintain current spending policies in addition to controlling growth, strengthening the supervision and transition to Basel III, in addition to increasing contributions of small and medium-sized companies to help improve competitiveness.