Sep 29, 2013 - 07:44 -ABU DHABI, 29th September 2013 (WAM)-- The Board of Governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary Institutions today concluded their 37th ordinary session in Abu Dhabi.

The 37th ordinary session of the Board of Governors of Arab Central Banks and Monetary Institutions was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.

The Secretariat-General of the Arab League, the Union of Arab Banks and the Union of Arab Securities Authorities participated in the meeting as observers.

The board thanked President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the people and government of the UAE for the hospitality and for hosting the meeting today.

They also thanked H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, for patronising the meeting, and the Governor of the UAE Central Bank, Sultan bin Nasser Al Suwaidi, and other officials for their cooperation on organising the meeting of the board.

At the meeting, participants discussed the first draft of a report which shows that the performance of Arab economies in 2012 was affected by developments in some Arab countries and the slow recovery of the global economy.

They also discussed the current economic and financial challenges facing Arab countries as well as the need to enhance economic and financial stability as a prerequisite for successful policies to address unemployment and achieve overall economic growth for all segments of Arab societies.

The participants emphasised the leading role of central banks in supervising and developing good governance, working on the preparation of methods of regulation in line with the international principles issued by The Group of Twenty (G20).

Participants called on the Arab central banks to engage in more coordination with the securities authorities in order to prepare suitable rules for supervising the bodies responsible for payments and settlements.

Jihad Al Wazir, Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA), gave a detailed presentation on the authority's experience in developing the infrastructure of the banking and financial sector, and its efforts to restructure the Palestinian banking sector in unusual and difficult circumstances in terms of payment and settlement procedures, information as well as regulations.

The participants praised the efforts of PMA to achieve the integrity and efficiency of the Palestinian banking sector.

A draft of an address, to be delivered by the Arab group at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington next month, was also discussed at the meeting today.

In their discussions on the said drat address, the participants emphasied the need for providing financial support to the countries currently undergoing political changes so as to fulfill their huge economic and social demands.

They also discussed the need for fair quota share for Arab countries at the IMF.

The governors praised the efforts of the Tunisian Central Bank and the Egyptian Central Bank to stabilise the banking and monetary systems in the two countries.

They voiced support for the central banks of Arab countries which undergo political changes, and expressed hope that these banks will restore their role in enhancing the integrity of the financial and monetary systems in the relevant countries.

WAM/MMYS