The UAE participates in the meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance, participates in the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.EBRD“, which will be hosted by the city of Riga, the capital of the Republic of Latvia, between June 5 and 7, with the participation of senior officials, decision-makers and representatives of international financial institutions from various countries of the world.

The country was represented at the meetings by Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Assistant Undersecretary for International Financial Relations Affairs at the Ministry of Finance, along with a number of specialists in the Ministry.

The UAE’s participation in these meetings comes within the framework of its keenness to strengthen its cooperation with international financial and development institutions, support efforts aimed at enhancing economic stability and sustainable development at the global level, and confirms its commitment to supporting multilateral action and strengthening international partnerships aimed at confronting global economic challenges.

Ali Abdullah Sharafi delivered the UAE’s speech during the session on “Strengthening Economic Governance,” during which he addressed the global economic repercussions of regional conflicts, and the importance of strengthening international cooperation to ensure the stability of global markets, supply chains, and energy and food security.

He stressed the importance of the Bank continuing to strengthen its support for the countries most affected by global economic challenges, by employing its financing tools and technical expertise to support energy projects, especially renewable ones, to diversify sources and reduce fluctuations in consumption prices, in addition to developing financial and development systems and policies with member states to employ financing efficiently, in a way that contributes to enhancing economic growth, creating job opportunities, and consolidating the quality of life for people.

He stressed the importance of enhancing food security and the sustainability of the agricultural sector by expanding the scope of technical support and innovative financing solutions, calling on member states and the international community to intensify cooperation to support food systems most vulnerable to challenges.

On the other hand, he stressed that investing in digital infrastructure has become an essential pillar for achieving sustainable growth and enhancing the competitiveness of countries in light of the acceleration of digital transformation globally, as these efforts are in line with common global trends aimed at building interconnected and more flexible digital economies.

This investment includes developing high-speed communications networks, cloud computing, and data centers, in addition to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, which contributes to supporting innovation and improving the efficiency of government services and the private sector.

The agenda of the first day included the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the Board of Governors, and the adoption of the agenda and organizational reports, in addition to the opening remarks. The second day also witnessed the holding of the plenary session of the Board of Governors, which included a number of roundtable discussion sessions on the most prominent global economic and development issues, including the role of the Bank in supporting economies affected by conflicts, and the future of the Bank’s activities in Ukraine, in addition to the axis of strengthening economic governance in the countries of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s operations.