Arab Monetary Fund lending rose to $7.6 billion in 2014
abu dhabi — The Arab Monetary Fund, or AMF, provided lending facilities amounting to $246 million to its member countries in 2014.
According to the annual report for 2014, the AMF granted loans to Mauritania, Yemen and other nations due to which the total lending reached $7.6 billion.
In the year, six missions have been assigned to Mauritania, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan, Jordan, and Tunisia, in order to study their requests for new loans, and/or to follow up on the progress of AMF-supported reform programmes previously agreed upon and to disburse remaining tranches of those loans.
AMF missions conducted an overall economic and financial assessment of the countries concerned, assessed the possibility of their access to AMF resources and the channels through which such resources could be provided, to finalise agreements on economic reform programs that support their economic goals, and to take stock of progress made in the implementation of reform programmes previously agreed upon.
In the area of technical assistance, the Fund continued to provide assistance needed by member countries in various fields to overcome economic challenges they faced. The fund responded to a request from the Government of Algeria for technical assistance to help with the finalisation of banking sector development and development plan.
Technical assistance was extended to some Arab countries in the area of development and modernization of banking sector. The fund stepped up the level of its consultations with its member countries in 2014 to explore channels through which it may provide support against the backdrop of weakening economic performance of a number of Arab countries due in part to the spillovers of latest regional developments, as well as the implications of moderate levels of global demand in an environment of sluggish global economic recovery on Arab economies. All these factors combined led to lower levels of exports of goods and services as well as to a drop in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to Arab economies, which had a negative impact on their respective internal and external balances, although the impact of these factors varied across countries.
In its endeavor to achieve its objectives, the AMF has been keen to further develop and expand its activities in the areas identified by its Articles of Agreement to meet the changing needs of its member countries against the backdrop of domestic, regional and international economic developments, with ensuing increases in financing needs in a number of countries.
The Arab Monetary Fund provided technical support to its member countries in various fields so that they may overcome challenges facing their economies and develop their financial sectors particularly through the joint technical assistance initiatives carried out in collaboration with relevant international financial institutions (IFIs).