UAE to host IMF, World Bank meetings in 2029

The UAE Banks Federation (UBF) has welcomed the selection of the UAE to host the World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings in 2029, calling it a reaffirmation of the country's standing as a global financial hub.

UBF Chairman AbdulAziz Al-Ghurair highlighted the UAE's advanced infrastructure, organisational track record, and sound economic policies as key factors behind the selection. "The international community's confidence in the UAE's ability to lead such global dialogues is well deserved," he said.

The UAE is the only country in the Middle East and Africa to host the meetings, which rotate outside Washington every three years. It is also the second time the UAE has been chosen, following Dubai's hosting in 2003.

Al-Ghurair noted that 2029 will be a landmark year for the UAE on the global financial stage, as the country will also host the SIBOS conference, organised by Swift, again making it the first and only Middle Eastern and African nation to do so, after Dubai previously hosted the event in 2013. SIBOS typically rotates among major financial centres including Singapore, London, and Tokyo.

The UBF reaffirmed its commitment to supporting all efforts related to these events in coordination with the Central Bank of the UAE.