Abdulhamid Saeed is new UAE Central Bank governor

DUBAI: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a federal decree for 2020 appointing Abdulhamid Saeed as Governor of the UAE Central Bank.

With more than 35 years of experience in the banking and financial services, Saeed held key positions as a board member of the First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, the Emirates Investment Authority, the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Sky News Arabia.

He also served as a member of the Mubadala Investment Company’s Board Executive Committee and Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. Prior to that, he held senior positions at Citibank.

Saeed holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arizona, USA.

Recently, President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan approved Federal Law No. 3 of 2020 regarding the regulation of the strategic stock of food commodities in the country, which is aimed at organising the food supplies in the event of crises, emergencies and disasters, as well as achieving food sustainability.

The law, whose provisions apply to the supplier and the registered merchant, outlined several obligations to implement its procedures. It also specifies the powers of the Ministry of Economy to implement the provisions of the law.

The ministry also has jurisdiction to prepare reports, studies, statistics and the economic evaluation of the food commodities, estimate the volume of consumption, determine the surplus and deficit, prepare databases on the production and availability of food commodities in the country and countries of origin.

The ministry will then follow-up with suppliers, in addition to coordinating and implementing sustainability and safety policies for the strategic stock of food commodities, in coordination with the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority, Ncema, and the competent authority, to achieve a safe strategic stock of food commodities.