Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Minister of Finance Muhammad Al-Jadaan and the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank Fahad Al-Mubarak participated in the third meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 under the Indonesian presidency, which was held in Indonesia on July 15, 2022.

The meeting saw the presence of finance ministers and central banks governors from the group's countries and a number of representatives of the invited countries; in addition to the heads of international and regional organizations.

The minister of finance, during the first session of the meeting titled “The Global Economy”, touched on the risks surrounding the future of the global economy, then reviewed the required policy responses.

He said: "There is no doubt that the future of the global economy is not as positive as it seemed a few months ago; inflationary pressures in many countries are stronger and more sustainable than previously thought.”

Inflation is being driven by a very complex set of policies that do not take in consideration the “state of the global economy” nor the “stage of development” of countries. So, central banks must tighten monetary policy more quickly than expected.

Regarding the global health agenda that was the focus of the second session of the meeting, he affirmed that the Kingdom supports the collaborative and multilateral work towards Pandemic Preparedness and Response.

He noted that during the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ summit in 2020, leaders committed to safeguarding our future by increasing spending on pandemic preparedness and closing existing gaps.

During the international financial architecture session, the minister of finance highlighted the critical role that the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) plays to help address challenges arising from food security.

He also addressed the rising debt vulnerabilities, and stressed on the importance of an effective implementation of the “Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the DSSI".

He stated: “The Common Framework has a great potential to serve as the best option for debt treatment given the changing landscape in the international debt architecture.”

In the infrastructure session, he stressed the importance of building a foundation to enhance the role of private sector investments to build a more sustainable investment environment characterized by transparency and predictability.

This helps to take advantage of potential new investments and increases economic productivity.

In the international taxes session, he explained that the agreement to address tax challenges arising from taxes and digitization of the economy is an important step to help address the issue of tax justice, and ensure a more coherent and stable international tax environment.

On his part, in the financial sector issues session, the Saudi Central Bank Gov. Dr. Fahad Al-Mubarak reviewed the Kingdom’s experience in facing the COVID-19 crisis, noting that it followed a targeted political intervention, with its focus on small and medium enterprises and vulnerable families.

He explained that the issue of financial risks resulting from climate change is a multifaceted issue, especially in light of increasing economic uncertainty, while offering his support for the development of a common global framework to harmonize approaches to crypto-asset activities.

He also affirmed his support for the Presidency’s GPFI work program to move forward with the financial inclusion action plan for 2020, pointing to the need to take advantage of the benefits of digitization to enhance financial inclusion.

He welcomed the ongoing work in the new Data Gaps Initiative noting the importance of taking into account the specific circumstances of each jurisdiction in relation to implementation capabilities given the highly unequal capabilities of the various countries involved.

He stressed the need for training and human capital development to be at the forefront of the implementation plan.