Dr Al –Wazir Lectures to IMF Country Directors and Department Managers in Washington DC on PMA Experience in Crisis Management

Washington DC, 15/4/2015

The Governor of the PMA, Dr Jihad Al –Wazir, gave a lecture to Country Directors and Department Managers from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the successful experience of the PMA in crisis management. Dr Al Wazir attributed the PMA maintenance of financial stability in Palestine – in particular during the latest Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip-   to the application of macro-prudential policies, scenario analysis and pre-planning. The lecture was delivered on the sideline of 2015 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF in Washington, D.C., which commenced Tuesday the 14^th and will conclude on the 19^th of this month.

On Wednesday, Dr Al Wazir took part in numerous events. As panelist, Dr Al Wazir spoke in the seminar entitled “Exiting Fragility, Views from the Ground” about the experience of overcoming the challenges confronting the PMA and the banking sector as a result of the adverse political and economic conditions. Serving as co-panelists, in addition to Dr Al Wazir, were Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director, IMF; Claver Gatete, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Rawanda and Kaifala Marah, Minister of Finance, Sierra Leone. During the seminar, the panelists shared their views on what it takes for countries to build resilience, thereby shedding light on successes, critical steps, and potential missteps, which could guide stakeholders in similar countries and help the Fund refine its engagement with these countries.

Later on during the day, Dr Al Wazir took part in the 7^th Annual G-24/ Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Policymakers’ Roundtable on Financial Inclusion, entitled “Financial Inclusion and Global Standards: Opportunities and Risks”. During the roundtable, Dr Al Wazir talked about the successful PMA experience in building a national financial inclusion strategy in Palestine. Dr Al Wazir recounted the PMA accomplishments and diligent efforts which have positioned Palestine as a pioneer of financial inclusion in the Middle East. As such, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has requested the PMA to present a working paper on developing national financial inclusion strategies in the Arab World, to be officially endorsed by the Council of the Governors of the Arab Central Banks and Monetary Agencies (COG) in its upcoming annual meeting. It is worth mentioning that the PMA is a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion since 2010.