Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Attends 2019 Annual Arab Banking Conference in Cairo, Heads First Session, Debates with Economic and Banking Affairs Experts and Specialists
Cairo – December 8, 2019
His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Mr. Azzam Shawwa participated in the 25th Annual Arab Banking Conference 2019 "The Implications of Political Fluctuations on Banking” in Cairo, Egypt, which was inaugurated by His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Mr. Tarek Amer.
The conference is held over two consecutive days amid a large presence of the governors of Arab central banks, Egyptian and Arab banking officials with the participation of more than 700 leading Arab banking figures and ministers, including His Excellency Sheikh Mohamed El -Jarrah El- Sabbah, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Banks, Mr. Hisham Ezz al-Arab, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Egyptian Banks, Dr. Joseph Torbey, Chairman of the World Union of Arab Bankers, Mr. Ahmed bin Abdulkarim al-Khelaifi, the Governor of Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) and former president of the Union of Arab Banks, and Mahmoud Mohy el-Deen, the First Vice President of the World Bank.
His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority chaired the first session "Economic Reforms and their Impact on Economic and Social Security", in which a group of experts and specialists in economic and banking affairs were debated. This issue is very important at the moment because of the problems that the Arab economies are experiencing related to sustainable development and its economic and social implications. Experts joined this session including His Excellency Dr. Kamal Hassan Ali, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Affairs at the Arab League, and Mr. Hisham Okasha, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Egypt, Dr. Shireenn Sharqawi, Assistant Minister of Finance for Economic Affairs at the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, and Mr. Hani Farhat, Chief Economist, Research Unit of The Bank of Egypt.
His Excellency Governor Azzam Shawwa said at the beginning of the session that those who monitor the economies of developing countries in general would observe the absence of development strategies in their holistic concept based on sustainable development, and the subsequent attempts for economic reform, and that in the face of these changes and developments adopted many Arab countries are a set of economic reforms aimed at boosting economic activity and eliminating economic imbalances that hinder their ability to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth.
His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority added that despite economic reform in the Arab countries, their economic performance had fluctuated in terms of the rates of growth achieved, and their failure to provide the necessary jobs to absorb the new entrants to the labor market and to bring about a significant reduction in the numbers of the unemployed. Mr. Shawwa also pointed out that Palestine was not an exception to this situation, the Palestinian economy had suffered for many years from many obstacles that had affected its activities and various sectors, and hah had a negative impact on many of its economic and social indicators, including low growth rates, record high unemployment and poverty, low living standards, and large budget deficits.
His Excellency the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, Mr. Tarek Amer, accompanied by His Excellency the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Mr. Azzam Shawwa and a number of leading banking figures, toured a section set up by the Suez Canal Bank to showcase the Bank's various banking services and digital services, including smart portfolio, internet banking, and smart branch and the bank's participation in the Central Bank's initiative of Nile Pioneers.
It should be noted that the conference will discuss many topics and aspects, most notably economic reforms and their impact on economic and social security, the role of the government proposals program in stimulating the financial market, the implications of political fluctuations on banking, and the impact of the pressures of international legislation on banking, the fourth industrial revolution and the changes brought about by financial technology in banking.
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