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The Arab Monetary Fund revealed that the past year witnessed the completion of all steps related to the framework for operating and managing the “Bunna” platform for Arab payments, and the formation of a supervisory committee for the institution from the central banks of eligible currencies, and the institution’s board of directors.
The fund added, in its annual report for the year 2022, that the platform began, during the past year, the implementation of transfers, which witnessed a relatively increasing number of transfers, as the report showed that about 73.3% of the total number of transfers that took place during the year 2022 were in UAE dirhams, and about 24.9%. In Egyptian pounds, about 1.4% in Saudi riyals, and about 0.3% in US dollars.
In another context, the annual report highlighted the Fund’s efforts to support its member states during the year 2022 in facing the unfavorable repercussions on the international arena, and their negative repercussions on supply chains and the prices of basic materials in international markets, in particular energy and food products.
The report included the Fund’s activities aimed at increasing the levels of financial inclusion, supporting the efforts of the regulatory authorities in the Arab countries to develop the financial sector, and maximizing the utilization of the opportunities offered by modern financial technologies to increase the levels of efficiency of financial services and access to financing.
According to the report, during the past year, the fund agreed to provide three loans with a total value of about 120 million Arab account dinars, equivalent to about $478.5 million, to support the balance of payments and reform programs in various economic sectors. The fund also agreed to withdraw payments of loans previously provided to its member states, based on the progress of implementing reform programs supported by those loans.
The report shed light on the Fund’s activities, which focused on strengthening the foundations of financial stability in the Arab countries, and providing opportunities for the exchange of experiences and expertise and the transfer of knowledge, in dealing with the challenges posed by developments at the regional and global levels on the sector, as the Fund intensified its consultations with policy makers in the year 2022. Member States on the challenges and ways to confront them, and the necessary reform paths.
