Dr. Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, who has participated in the IMF 2015 sparing meeting in Washington, took part in a summit meeting by the governors of G24.
Dr. Seif expressed his comments on financial for development in national and international aspects.
On national policy priorities, he addressed that -given the current difficulty global environment- policies in MENAs will need to reduce vulnerabilities, enhance resilience to exogenous shocks, and promote equality and social inclusion. Dr. Seif mentioned that this in general requires rebuilding the fiscal buffers used during the crisis and strengthening the institutional framework as well as proceeding with structural reforms that enhanced growth and job creation by promoting a business environment conductive to private sector investment and development. He called for the greater investment in education and health as well as efforts to improve social safety nets. Moreover, Dr. Seif addressed that a more measured pace of fiscal consolidation is needed in those MENA countries that have adequate buffers to support growth and reduce high unemployment.
On priorities for the international community, Dr. Seif stressed the need for enhanced capacity-building technical assistance as well as increased concessional support for developing countries to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals over the period through 2030. He mentioned that work should continue to promote an equitable trading system, enhance international tax cooperation, and strengthen sovereign resolution framework. The governor highlighted that AEs should also deliver on their commitments to Official Development Assistance. He said the existing development financing architecture does not provide sufficient finance to meet the needs. Dr. Saif stressed that increasing investment in infrastructure is warranted and overdue because of the positive effects of higher and more efficient public investment on short-term growth and on positional output. The governor pointed that the presence governance structure prevailing at the IFIs and the delayed quota and governance reforms have adversely impacted credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness of these institutions. Dr. Seif welcomed the emergence of BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).