Yemeni Minister of Finance, Salem Bin Brik, and Central Bank Governor, Ahmed Ghaleb, held today important meetings in Washington, DC, with a number of senior officials in the Arab Monetary Fund and the International Monetary Fund, as part of their participation in the annual meetings of the Fund and the World Bank held during the period from 21 to 26 October.

In the first meeting, Bin Brik and Ghalib met with the Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Monetary Fund, Dr. Fahd bin Mohammed Al Turki. During the meeting, aspects of joint cooperation and opportunities for Yemen to obtain financial resources from the Fund were discussed, with the aim of mitigating the effects of the current financial and economic crisis. It also addressed the treatment of existing debt and ways to obtain exemptions on late interest, in addition to easy payment of loan installments.

In another meeting, the two governors discussed with the new head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Yemen, Esther Perez Ruiz, and the Fund’s resident representative in Yemen and Iraq, Muhammad Jaber, the latest economic developments and humanitarian files in the country. The financial and monetary challenges facing Yemen were pointed out, as a result of the severe shortage in government resources due to the cessation of oil exports and the increased demand for foreign currency to cover the import bill.

Ben Brik and Ghalib also met with the Executive Director of the Arab and Maldives Group at the International Monetary Fund, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, where they reviewed developments in the economic conditions in Yemen and the challenges resulting from the scarcity of financial resources. They thanked Mohieddin for his efforts in providing technical support, and expressed their welcome to his successor, Muhammad Maait.

These meetings were attended by our country's deputy ambassador to Washington, Imad Bamatraf, and a number of undersecretaries of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, which reflects the Yemeni government's interest in improving the economic and financial situation in the country.