Dubai: Finance Minister Stresses Need To Take Appropriate Measures To Achieve Arab Food Security
On 12 February, in Dubai, the Minister of Finance, Mr. Islamou Ould Mohamed M’Bady, participated alongside the Ministers of Finance and Governors of Central Banks of Arab countries in the Public Finance Forum, organized by the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates, the Arab Monetary Fund, and the IMF.
During the meeting, Mr. Ould Mohamed M’Bady presented the development strategy of the Mauritanian government, which is part of the implementation of the program “My priorities”, on the basis of which His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the President of the Republic, was elected by the Mauritanian people.
He then highlighted the efforts made by the Mauritanian government to provide the necessary resources to finance infrastructure and meet the growing demand for social services, such as health, education, and security, which required
a significant increase in public spending.
the Minister also recalled the public finance policies and measures adopted by Mauritania to improve the business climate, strengthen governance, and fight against corruption and illegal financial flows, through the activation of competent control bodies.
Regarding taxation, Mr. M’Bady stressed the importance of building trust between the general tax administration and taxpayers through the optimal use of resources in the services that the citizen needs such as health.
, education, security, infrastructure, etc., which obliges the citizen to pay taxes voluntarily without any constraint. He pointed out that these efforts have resulted in a significant increase in tax revenue in recent years.
With regard to cooperation with the IMF, the Minister explained that Mauritania recently signed an economic and financial program for the period 2023-2025 with the IMF, with the aim of supporting the recovery of
economic activity and maintain macroeconomic stability.
He indicated that “The financial pillar of this program aims to improve medium-term fiscal performance to maintain financial sustainability, gradually reduce the country’s indebtedness, and reduce the fluctuations associated with extractive industry revenues through better mobilization of internal revenues”.
For investors, the Minister appealed to Arab countries, institutions, and investors to exploit the enormous potential and opportunities currently available in Mauritania to contribute to the achievement of the desired Arab food security, while
affirming Mauritania’s commitment to provide all the facilities and incentives necessary for this purpose.
The Minister added that “This call stems from lessons learned from recent crises, such as the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine, which have underlined the importance of food sovereignty and security in the field of energy, because it has become urgent
to unite efforts for Arab food sovereignty by directing Arab capital toward investment opportunities in Arab countries”.