IMF to open conference in Amman Sunday

AMMAN — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) will on Sunday open in Amman a two-day regional conference to discuss policies that can generate jobs and lead to better growth and equity in the region.

Over 200 participants, IMF officials, policy makers from the Middle East and North Africa, and leading members of the private sector, academia, civil society and media will gather for the meeting. 

Under the theme “Building the Future: Jobs, Growth and Fairness in the Arab World”, the high-level conference will see the participation of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, whose visit to Jordan will be the first as the fund’s chief.

The event is co-organised by the government and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and the IMF. 

Finance ministers and central bank governors from several Arab countries will take part in the conference. 

According to the agenda of the two-day gathering, on day one, a first set of two parallel thematic sessions will explore macroeconomic policy priorities and transparency, and governance issues. 

These will be followed by a second set of parallel sessions that will focus on tackling unemployment and improving the business climate. 

The sessions will be chaired by high-level policy makers, where speakers from the Arab region and beyond will explore challenges and opportunities. 

On day two, the conference will be opened by a panel including Ensour, Lagarde and Director General of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development Abdlatif Al Hamad.