PMA Governor Participates in Arab Banking Forum on SMEs
Amman/Jordan – July19, 2017
H.E. Azzam Shawwa, Governor of PMA, participated in the banking forum titled “SMEs: The Road to Economic Development and Social Justice” held today in Amman, Jordan. The two-day forum was held under the auspices of H.E. Engineer Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry Trade and Supply.
The forum was organized on the initiatives of the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) and the Association of Banks in Palestine (ABP), to discuss the significant role which can be played by SMEs to support economies of the Arab World, particularly in countries which are economically challenged as a result of political and social changes. The forum also discussed the reality of SMEs in the Arab world.
The forum was opened by the welcoming speeches of Wissam Fattouh, UAB Secretary General; Musa Shehadeh, Chairman of Association of Banks in Jordan; H.E. Dr. Ziad Fariz, Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan and H.E. Engineer Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry Trade and Supply.
In his key speech delivered in the first session, H.E. Governor Shawwa highlighted the significance of the establishment and support of SMEs as they represent one of the most important contributors to economic and social development, being instrumental to the creation of job opportunities and to combating unemployment and poverty that plague several countries nowadays.
PMA Governor added that the role of finance, in general, and the banking sector, in specific, in pushing economic growth rates and realizing sustainable development has become a generally recognized fact in economic development thought. He added that finance is pivotal in the alleviation of poverty and unemployment, raising standards of living and achieving human development. In this context, the Palestinian banking sector currently occupies a prominent and increasingly important position in the Palestinian economy, especially in light of the comprehensive strategy laid out by the PMA in 2006 intended primarily to promote financial stability in Palestine.
A ceremony was held in H.E. Governor Shawwa’s honor, recognizing his efforts to promote financial stability in Palestine; advance and modernize the Palestinian banking system in order to provide better quality and international-standard banking services and expand ties between the financial and banking sectors and the various sectors of the Palestinian economy. H.E. Governor Shawwa was honored by H.E. Engineer Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry Trade and Supply; Maher Al-Sheikh, Deputy Governor of CBJ; Musa Shehadeh, Chairman of Association of Banks in Jordan and Wissam Fattouh, UAB Secretary General, and Joseph Nesnas, ABP Deputy Chairman.
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