The goal of the new office is to strengthen the IMF’s collaboration with governments and institutions in the Middle East including promoting economic stability, growth, and regional integration. It also underscores the growing economic importance of the region.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced this week that it will open a new regional office in Riyadh, “to enhance the partnership with countries in the Middle East and beyond. The new office will scale up capacity building, regional surveillance, and outreach to promote stability, growth, and regional integration. It will strengthen the IMF’s engagement with regional institutions, governments, and other stakeholders. The IMF is grateful for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s financial contribution to boost capacity development to IMF members—including fragile states.”
The announcement came on the occasion of a two-day conference (April 24-25) in Riyadh organized by the IMF and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Finance. The conference aims will review industrial policy’s key principles and draw lessons from its successes and setbacks in other regions, including Asian miracles. The theme is considered important for the region’s oil-producing states given their ambitious reforms to diversify their economies.
The conference was opened by Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim, Minister of Economy and Planning, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Jihad Azour, the Director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, will close the conference with a roundtable discussion between policymakers from the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
The first director of the regional office will be Mr. Abdoul Aziz Wane and Senegalese national and experienced IMF executive.
