PMA convenes Workshop for Economics Journalists
Under the auspices of Governor Azzam Shawwa, the PMA convened a workshop in Ramallah on economics journalism. The Workshop was attended by a host of economics journalists from various media establishments, news agencies and radio stations, in the presence of Dr. Shehadeh Hussein, Deputy Governor of the PMA; Dr. Riyad Abu Shehadeh, Assistant to the Governor for Financial Stability Affairs; Mrs. Irene Saadeh, PMA Director of Public Relations and Communications Department and heads of several PMA departments.
In his speech, Governor Shawwa underlined the role of economics journalism in achieving and fostering comprehensive development through lauding the role of the national economy, disseminating information to citizens and drawing road maps to investors which positively impacts the investment climate in Palestine.
Governor Shawwa asserted the importance of enhancing the capacities and improving the skills of economics journalists to better equip them to fulfill the media’s mission with a high level of professionalism, adding that “what is required of economics journalists is not merely to acquire figures, statistics and budgets -albeit important-, but rather to analyze and explicate this data and to present this to the public in a comprehensible, simplified and objective manner with the intention to raise public knowledge and education regarding financial and economic affairs”.
Further, Governor of the PMA highlighted the role of the banking sector in managing the economy and financing economic development plans, amid myriad challenges facing economic development in Palestine. He pointed out that, at the level of governorates, financial indictors at end-June 2017 show that total net assets of banks operating in Palestine reached around USD 15 billion, while total direct facilities reached USD 7.5 billion; a clear evidence of the robustness and stability of this sector.
Governor Shawwa affirmed that the PMA will continue to work on advancing the banking system’s infrastructure, reinforcing the financial safety net and developing supervisory procedures and instructions that are in line with international best practices and standards, as part of its efforts to promote financial stability of the Palestinian banking sector and achieve financial inclusion. Governor Shawwa pointed out that the PMA has concluded the procedures to transform to a central bank, which will soon be announced once the Palestine Central Bank Law receives presidential endorsement in the near future.
A number of PMA’s directors lectured during the Workshop on different topics. Dr. Riyad Abu Shehadeh, Assistant to the Governor for Financial Stability Affairs, gave a presentation about PMA’s strategy for financial stability, whereas Mr. Mohammad Atallah, Director of the Research and Monetary Policy Department, lectured about monetary stability (the stability of prices) and the support of growth and employment. Mr. Ali Faroun, Director of the PMA’s Market Conduct Department, presented an overview of the strategy on financial inclusion, the latest advances in credit information systems and the initiatives made by the PMA to support the private sector. Mr. Riyad Awwad, Director of the Payment Systems Department, elucidated the features of the payment systems which the PMA continually develops, such as the payment system and the electronic clearing system, following which Mr. Taher Hasan, Head of Supervision of Payment Systems Unit, lectured on the different mechanisms and methods of electronic payment. The Workshop concluded with a discussion between the journalists, participants and the lecturers, who also took questions.
The Workshop also included a tour of the facilities and divisions of the new PMA headquarters, which introduced the journalists to the nature and the method of operations of PMA’s different departments.
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