Palestine, Syria and Lebanon are the focus of the new co-ordination group established on Sunday by the IMF, World Bank, Arab Co-ordination Group, and regional countries, according to the International Monetary Fund’s Middle East director.
What defines the new committee is its “partnership with the region”, Jihad Azour told The National on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies in Saudi Arabia where the group was formed.
Mr Azour said Syria faces a similar lack of human infrastructure as former Soviet states did after the fall of the Soviet Union. Syria's new Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani, who was appointed in December, attended the high-level meeting.
To ensure aid isn't being given without seeing development, Mr Azour said, “you need to train a large group of civil servants at the Central Bank, Ministry of Finance … in statistics and other core functions of the state. And most of them speak Arabic”.
“We are adapting, what we know, to the needs of those countries,” he added, saying that the informal group is partnering with Arab institutions on the ground to tailor to these specific needs. “We have a centre in Kuwait that is in charge of capacity development. We provide technical assistance through our Middle East Technical Assistance Centre based in Beirut,” he said.
Core members
Through such partnerships, this informal mechanism will create "a capacity to co-ordinate faster and more efficiently ... [and] we can serve those countries better and faster," he said of the group, which plans to expand its partners at the upcoming 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in late April in Washington.
The informal coalition is already in talks with prospective members. These consist of bilateral groups, mostly in the Gulf, and also with UN agencies from the international side.
Mr Azour said the the current members of the group are global multinational development banks including the IMF and World Bank, in addition to regional institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Monetary Fund among others.
The Gulf countries and the intergovernmental political and economic Group of Seven (G7) including Japan "are [also] very much involved".
"The purpose of this core group is to create a platform for co-ordination between the different stakeholders," he said.
The coalition is formed at a time where finding funding partners has become difficult, as the US, the world's largest donor – accounting for 41.8 per cent of global aid last year, according to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs – is changing its aid policies.
Gaza and West Bank
The IMF has provided more than $37 billion of financing over the last four years to aid in the development of economies in fragility as a result of crisis. This is in addition to technical assistance to help countries implement reforms and trainings, said Mr Azour.
With its new regional office in Riyadh established in April of last year, the multilateral institution has been able to better serve the region by having discussions with regional partners, providing co-ordination on the ground, and developing yesterday's informal group to support fragile economies in the Middle East.
In the case of Gaza, UN estimates more than $53 billion will be needed to reconstruct the war-torn enclave after 15 months of being assaulted. The IMF, now with the Riyadh office and the coalition, is able to help both Gaza and the West Bank more directly.
"As an institution [we are] in regular consultation with the Palestinian Authority, [and] we provide technical assistance. Also, we help them in their policy settings," he said.
"We are helping also the central bank in improving its capacity ... the Palestinian monetary authorities, to provide the needed support now for the post conflict," said Mr Azour adding that these are the capacities which do not exist at the moment.
The IMF and the coalition will also work beyond the dimension of economic recovery and infrastructure, and will co-ordinate with UN agencies on the humanitarian side.
The informal group of regional leaders and multilateral institutions also hope to expand its reach to Yemen as well to Sudan “sometime soon” when conditions allow, said Mr Azour.
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Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
South Africa World Cup squad
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (c), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (w), JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Rassie van der Dussen.
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Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
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- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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Daniella Weiss and Nachala
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Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
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Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
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Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
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In
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- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
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- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
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Out
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- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
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• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
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Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
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The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
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