ABU DHABI, 11th December, 2021 (WAM) — Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), participated in the first G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under the Indonesian G20 Presidency, which took place on 9-10 December 2021.
The Ministry of Finance is participating on behalf of the UAE as it is an invited country by Indonesia in the G20 for the year 2022.
The meeting discussed the G20 Finance Track Priorities for 2022, with a focus on the future of the global economy, especially on promoting recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and identifying and framing common responses to lay the ground for a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth. That in addition to reviewing the G20 priorities related to financial and social inclusion, financial sustainability, the latest initiatives, and programs related to infrastructure, as well as following up on the discussion of tax-related initiatives.
Younis Al Khoori stressed the importance of exploring the most effective means to maintain response flexibility and to make sure that the most affected business sectors and communities are cared for in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. He indicted that the UAE had taken a proactive and clear approach to achieve this in light of clear indications that emphasized the need for stimulus measures, which amounted to about 93 billion US dollars, contributing in turn to effectively mitigating the repercussions of the pandemic.
On the implementation of the global consensus on Pillar 1 and 2 to Address the Tax Challenges arising From the Digitalisation of the Economy, Al Khoori stated that the UAE is supportive of an internationally coordinated approach to tax reforms and encourages the issuance of additional implementation guidance that contribute to an internationally consistent application of the proposed rules.
He noted that countries should be provided with sufficient time to implement the rules, taking into account each country’s domestic fiscal context, and no adverse implications should arise to any country while the implementation process is ongoing.
On the G20 Sustainable Finance roadmap, Al Khoori said: "We believe that the focus should be on exploring the use of policy levers that will enhance capital formation, implement capacity-building, and issue transition-focused instruments. This objective also depends on our ability to embed SDG principles into the mainstream to underpin innovation and entrepreneurship in these areas. As you know the Dubai Expo 2020, which is currently taking place in the UAE, is based on the overall theme of sustainability, where we are currently engaging in these discussions at the expo sites with official delegates and other concerned entities and guests."
The G-20 is a leading forum for global financial issues whose members include major developed and developing and globally influential economies to discuss many issues and challenges related to the world economy. The G20 countries account for 85% of global GDP, 75% of world trade and about two-thirds of the world's population.