Doha, Qatar, 3 October 2024 – A high profile roundtable titled: “The Fund for the Future” was held in Doha, Qatar, on 3^rd October 2024, bringing together the Finance Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), H.E. Kristalina Georgieva.

The event which took place alongside the joint annual meeting of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee and the Committee of Central Bank Governors of the GCC with the IMF discussed the region’s impressive transformation and strengthening IMF- GCC partnership.

The roundtable was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, Minister of Finance of Qatar; H.E. Mr. Mohammed Al Jadaan, Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Chair of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), and H.E. Ms. @KGeorgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.

During his intervention at the event, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, commended the Fund for its relentless efforts to adapt and respond to recurrent economic shocks that hamper global development prospects. He also recognized IMF’s role in building a credible framework for macroeconomic and financial stability.

Dr. Al Jasser stated that the Islamic Development Bank Group looks forward to enhancing collaboration with the IMF to strengthen the legal and regulatory frameworks of Islamic finance in countries where required and to transform the development landscape to make a lasting impact on people’s lives.

Furthermore, he underlined that it is essential for the IMF to continue enhancing its core functions of economic stabilization and crisis management to support its members in a shock-prone world.

The IsDB President underlined that the IMF’s role at the center of the global financial safety net needs to be reinforced, and the permanent quota resources of the IMF need to be boosted enabling the institution to bolster its capacity in protecting vulnerable economies against future crises.

In his remarks, Dr. Al Jasser recommended exploring options from a GCC perspective for consolidating regional safety nets and strengthening their connections with national, regional, and global safety net systems towards greater economic resilience.

The issue of accelerating debt restructuring for countries already in debt distress or at high risk was also featured in IsDB President’s intervention at the roundtable.