Arab Monetary Fund
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The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) is a regional
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
organization, a working sub-organization of the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
. It was founded 1976, and has been operational since 1977.


History

The first president and director of the Arab Monetary Fund, from 1977 to 1982, was Dr. Jawad Hashim. In 1982, the Arab Monetary Fund funded and supervised the launch of
Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...
. Nemir Kirdar was transferred from Chase, where he advised the AMF, to Abu Dhabi to develop the new fund.
Omar Aggad Omar A. Aggad (; 20 April 1927 – 1 February 2018, also sometimes spelled in English transliteration Umar Aqqad) was a Saudi Palestinian businessman, the founder of Aggad Investment Company (AICO), and the founder and former chairman of Arab P ...
was the first investor in this fund. Still in 1982, the AMF inaugurated the Arab Monetary Fund building in Abu Dhabi. In 1992, the AMF published its yearly Arab Economic Report in which the institution revealed that Arab countries had lost a total of $620 billion during the
invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...
. $84 billion alone were direct payments from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf Emirates, to the United States, Britain and France, regarding military expenses. In June 2010, the AMF granted a $76 million loan to
Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
to undertake key financial reforms. In December 2010, the AMF granted a $200 million loan to
Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
to support economic restructuring programs. $800 million had been granted to Yemen to this date. In September 2012, the AMF granted a $127 million loan to
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
to help the country cope with the rising prices of food. In March 2014, Abdulrahman bin Abdullah al Hamidy, former head of Saudi Arabia's central bank, was appointed director general and chairman of the board of the Arab Monetary Fund. In April 2015, the
World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...
and the Arab Monetary Fund signed a partnership for enhanced cooperation in the MENA region. In May 2016, the Arab Monetary Fund called for central banks increase their commitments to
Islamic finance Islamic banking, Islamic finance ( ''masrifiyya 'islamia''), or Sharia-compliant finance is banking or financing activity that complies with Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Some ...
, pressing them to use
Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
-compliant tools to manage their short-term financial obligations. In May 2017, the Arab Monetary Fund loaned $332 million to the Egyptian government to make up for the decline of tourism in the country. In April 2018, the AMF announced its intention to create its own independent regional entity for the clearing and settlement of intra-Arab payments. In November 2023, H.E. Dr. Fahad M. Alturki, former Vice-President of the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC), was appointed director general and chairman of the board of the Arab Monetary Fund.


Objectives

The Arab Monetary Fund's main objectives are to correct and balance the payment of its member states, remove payment restrictions between members, improve Arab monetary cooperation, encourage the development of Arab financial markets (paving the way for a unified Arab currency), and to facilitate and promote trade between member states. The Articles of Agreement define the Fund's aims as follows: * Correct disequilibria in the balance of payments of member states; * Promote the stability of exchange rates among Arab currencies, to render them mutually convertible, and to eliminate restrictions on current payments between member states; * Establish policies and modes of monetary co-operation to accelerate Arab economic development in the member states; * Tender advice on the investment of member states' financial resources in foreign markets, whenever called upon to do so; * Promote the development of Arab financial markets; * Promote the use of the Arab dinar as a unit of account and to pave the way for the creation of a unified Arab currency; * Coordinate the positions of member states in dealing with international monetary and economic problems; * Provide a mechanism for the settlement of current payments between member states in order to promote trade among them.


Organization structure

The principal organs of the AMF are the Board of Governors, the Board of Executive Directors, and the Director-General. The Board of Governors (General Assembly) are the highest authority responsible for formulating policies on Arab economic integration and liberalization of trade amongst residing member states. In the Board of Governors, each member state is represented by an appointed Governor and Deputy Governor whom serve five-year terms. The Board of Executive Directors is composed of eight non-resident directors elected by the Board of Governors on renewable three-year terms that is chaired by the Director-General. The Director-General is also appointed to the board but hold five-year term limits. The Director-General holds the position of Managing Director of the AMF.Pierre van den Boogaerde, "Financial assistance from Arab countries and Arab regional institutions" (International Monetary Fund, 1991) The organization distributes its work through various offices (IA), departments, committees, and divisions. The Director-General supervises a committee dedicated to loans and another dedicated to investments in order to be able to make recommendations on loan and investment policies to the Board of Executive Director. In addition this person is responsible for conducting and submitting an Annual Report to the Board of Governors.


Location and members

The AMF's headquarters is in the city of
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
, the capital of the
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. As of 2023, Member countries (22) are: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


See also

* Buna (payment system) *
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
*
Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
*
Council of Arab Economic Unity The Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) (Arabic: مجلس الوحدة الاقتصادية العربية) was founded by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and ...
(CAEU) * List of Arab organizations


References


External links


Arab Monetary FundThe articles of agreement of the Arab Monetary Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arab Monetary Fund Organizations established in 1976 Economy of the Arab League Arab League Pan-Arab organizations