MoF organises workshop on economic diversification in GCC

DUBAI, 23rd May, 2016 (WAM) -- The Ministry of Finance, MoF, has organised a workshop to discuss a book entitled, "Breaking the Oil Spell The Gulf Falcon's Path to Diversification", at its premises in Dubai. The book was launched in April on the sidelines of the spring meetings for the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and the World Bank Group, WBG, in Washington DC.

The workshop was attended by Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Under-Secretary of International Financial Relations Sector at MoF, Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Under-Secretary of Resources and Budget Sector, and a number of heads of departments, experts and consultants. The workshop included presentations from the authors of the book, Fuad Hasanov, an Economist at the IMF and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Georgetown University, and Reda Cherif, an Economist at the IMF Institute for Capacity Development.

Commenting on the workshop, Younis Haji Al Khoori, Under-Secretary of the MoF, said, "Due to the wise leaderships' strategy to develop prudent financial policies and sound economic methodology, the UAE continues its exceptional journey to achieve strong growth."

Mr. Cherif said, "Achieving economic diversification requires governments to enhance institution frameworks, develop infrastructure, reduce regulatory barriers, and change incentives to enhance private and public companies' ability to overcome limits of domestic markets. All governments should also support exports, and establish development banks that provide funding and support for the business sector."

Mr. Hasanov said, "Our gratitude goes to the Ministry of Finance for offering us the opportunity to present the book that analyses the economic changes in the world and the Middle East, and its impact on the effectiveness of economic diversification strategies. We also appreciate the Ministry's commitment to cope with the changes and adopt suitable solutions to enhance the UAE's economy as well as maintain international standards."

The workshop looked at an economic situation in which oil is no longer the main source of government financial resources, and the economic outlook witnessed by oil-exporting countries. There will be an effective change in the current economic model if planning and government financial resources were based on innovation and the implementation of economic diversification policies. The workshop also reviewed the experience of countries such as Brazil, Malaysia and Singapore, which have made major strides in economic diversification.