The Ministry of Finance recently participated in the final meetings of G20 Finance and Central Banks' Deputies (FCBD) as part of the UAE delegation. Senior UAE officials including Minister of State and the UAE Sherpa Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh; MoF Undersecretary Younis Haji Al Khoori; and Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Under-Secretary of Resource and Budget Sector at MoF, participated in the meeting on behalf of the country's delegation.

In view of COVID-19 restrictions, the meeting took place virtually during when participants discussed the ongoing progress in the financial track, the communique, and the Sherpa track.

In this regard, Younis Haji Al Khoori asserted that the Ministry of Finance participated in drafting the communique along with assisting in this year's financial track results and commitment. It called for the need to continue with financial and health response through the G20 action plan in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. In addition, the Ministry hailed the efforts of G20 in assisting several countries in need by developing an adequate financial environment with the aim of mitigating the repercussions of the pandemic crisis.

The Ministry of Finance also stressed the significance of a few urgent issues in the G20 agenda, including the intensifying need for confronting legal, regulatory and supervisory issues in cryptocurrencies and stable currencies. Al Khoori added that the ministry has also called for the need for exploring ways to provide accurate and reliable data and performance measures for infrastructure assets, noting that it will help in leading infrastructure development. Furthermore, the ministry called for addressing financing gaps and digital transformation, particularly in view of the pandemic crisis.

The G20 Finance and Central Banks’ Deputies met for the sixth time this year for the first meeting of the latest session that took place from November 11-16. In the first meeting, Younis Haji Al Khoori participated with G20 Finance and Central Banks’ Deputies and representatives from several countries, regional and international organisations invited across the world. During the meeting, participants discussed the Financial Track Leaders’ Communique reflecting the key outcomes of the financial track work under the Saudi Presidency this year.

The second meeting took place on November 19 which was attended by the G20 Finance Deputies and Sherpas along with participants from invited countries, and international and regional organisations.

The joint financial statement and the Sherpa statement were completed by the G20 Finance Deputies and Sherpas following which G20 leaders will be submitting them for review and approval during their virtual summit scheduled to take place on November 21-22 under the Saudi presidency.

WAM