The GCC General Secretariat concluded the panel discussion organized on Monday, 13 July 2020, on "Priorities of Government Spending to address the Impacts of the Corona Pandemic"

Speakers of the panel discussion were HE Younis Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance of the United Arab Emirates. HE Abdulaziz bin Mutib Al Rasheed, Assistant Minister for International Financial Affairs & Macro Fiscal Policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to HE Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Barashdi, Director General of Budget and Contracts, Ministry of Finance of the Sultanate of Oman. HE Talat Hafiz, Secretary General of the Banking Information and Awareness Committee and the spokesperson for the Saudi banks, moderated it. 

They discussed the priorities of government spending to address the impacts of the Corona pandemic, foremost of which is the GCC states mechanism to restore aspects government spending to combat the virus and mitigate its spread, and the sectors most affected by the pandemic.

The also reviewed the most prominent governmental initiatives and programs taken by the GCC states to mitigate the effects of the emerging Coronavirus on individuals, investors and the private sector. Where the speakers presented their views and expectations on the economic performance of the GCC states during the rest of this year and next, in addition to discussing lessons learned from the pandemic with regard to government spending.

This panel discussion is a continuation of the panels organized by the General GCC Secretariat on economic policies and measures taken in the GCC states to mitigate the impacts of the Corona pandemic.