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The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has stressed the significance of holding Cop28 in the UAE, seeing it as an "opportunity to zero in on what has been an elusive target" — meeting climate targets.
In an exclusive interview with The National on the margins of the World Government Summit in Dubai, Ms Georgieva stressed that “time is not our friend, we are way behind actions that the world needs to take to reduce the risks for our future”.
“I see the opportunity of Cop28 to zero in on what has been an elusive target”, including the need for climate finance for emerging markets and developing economies, she said.
Ms Georgieva said the UAE was ideally placed for the meeting. “By the virtue of being an energy producer that has taken seriously the task of diversifying away from fossil fuels and creating more renewables as an opportunity, the Emirates is in a position to demonstrate what can be done and to lead in that [energy] transition,” she said.
Ms Georgieva also stressed the need for actions on the “big tasks for the world — mitigation, adaptation and transition”.
It was important “that the Cop would be in a country that has taken to heart that goal of transition to clean, sustainable energy without jeopardising the objective of everyone having access to energy as a source of economic development”, she said.
She also highlighted the importance of having an inclusive summit, with all sectors represented. "We need all hands on deck, we need everybody … it is very important to concentrate on what needs to be done, and actions that will get us there," she said.
She advised all parties to pay “attention to what matters the most fighting: the climate crisis".
Touching on the general picture in the region, Ms Georgieva explained the “Middle East is following the pattern of the world economy, meaning that growth is slowing down and inflation is still a problem to be dealt with”.
However, the picture is mixed because “it is a very diverse region”, she said.
“The Gulf countries are doing quite well and inflation is much less of a problem to a certain degree because their currencies are pegged to the dollar, so the appreciation of the dollar doesn't affect them the same way it affects other countries," Ms Georgieva said.
She referenced countries, without naming them, “that have very high levels of debt ... servicing debt when interest rates are up is particularly difficult”.
However, despite the economic outlook “what we are encouraging countries in the region to do is pursue reforms, so you strengthen your competitiveness and your attractiveness for investment”, she said.
Mr Georgieva said lessons from the era of the pandemic should be heeded. “What we learnt from Covid-19 is that countries with strong fundamentals, sound fiscal policies, strong economies based on private sector-led growth, withstood the economic shock, the same way as people with strong immune systems withstood the virus. So the message to everybody is to continue on the course of reforms.”
Tunisia
Tunisia is one of the countries that needs to expedite reforms. Ms Georgieva said the "collaboration with the authorities in Tunisia has produced a very sound staff-level agreement”.
She expects her team to go to the board with a programme for Tunisia “quite soon”.
"We have had a number of actions that Tunisia needs to take, so we can go to board, some of these actions proved to be more difficult, and it has taken a longer time for the authorities to implement them,” she said.
“They also need to bring the population on board on these difficult actions, but they're necessary. And we also had to make sure that the financial support for our programme from the friends of Tunisia, including the Gulf countries, is secured.
"I am very pleased to say that we have made very good progress ... I expect that we will be able to go to our board with the programme quite soon."
Egypt
One country for which Ms Georgieva sounded optimistic, despite difficult economic circumstances, was Egypt. While speaking at the summit in Dubai, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said reforms and improvements were being implemented.
Ms Georgieva said she shared Mr El Sisi’s "optimistic view because, indeed, Egypt has been firm in implementing the actions we have agreed on at the start of our programme”.
“They are not easy actions to take," she said.
One issue that has been discussed at length with the Egyptian authorities is more privatisation. “I'm also very optimistic to see Egypt making decisive steps towards the state stepping back from the economy and allowing private sector to do more,” Ms Georgieva said.
"There are a number of privatisations that are being scheduled, and I am very encouraged by the expectation that we will have many of those privatisations implemented in the next months, by the end of this financial year, which is June."
That means the IMF expects “there will be a sufficient inflow of foreign exchange, as a result of these privatisations”, she said.
One of the key challenges facing Egypt is job creation. Ms Georgieva said that, ultimately, the private sector must be the driver for those jobs.
“The country has to create a million jobs every year, because of its youthful growing population," she said.
"The state cannot create that many jobs even remotely. So the state has to create conditions for the private sector to do what the private sector is best at — employment creation."
Lebanon
There was, unfortunately, less optimism for Lebanon, which is going through its worst economic crisis.
Ms Georgieva said the authorities in Lebanon needed "to set aside what divides them and unite to help their people”.
Showing her frustration at the situation, she said: “We reached a staff-level agreement in April last year. It will soon be a year since we have agreed on what needs to be done. But the doing has proven elusive."
She expressed her "greatest sympathy" to the Lebanese people. "They deserve to be given a chance for the economy to rebalance. And it is a matter of political will,” she said.
Her message to Lebanon’s leadership was clear: “Muster the will, get the job done."
Deadly earthquake
On another note, Ms Georgieva expressed her condolences to the people of Turkey and Syria for the “tremendous tragedy” of the earthquakes last week.
“Right now, the most important mobilisation is this of humanitarian support. And I want to pay tribute to the humanitarian workers, to those in civil protection that are saving lives and helping people cope with the impact of it,” she said.
As for the IMF, she said it was looking at the “macroeconomic implications of this disaster”.
“Down the road, I am hopeful to see that reconstruction brings benefits to the countries, especially in the case of Turkey,” she said.
"Turkey has the experience from the past, when they turned a disaster into a mobilisation for reconstruction, and growth,” she said, in reference to a deadly earthquake that struck the country in 1999.
Ms Georgieva said she was “very, very keen to see my colleagues at the World Bank already doing a needs assessment … so it can underpin reconstruction efforts, as soon as possible”.
"In the case of Syria, of course, there are issues related to how the country can get access to support and financing.
"But right now, I would set this to the side. The focus has to be on making sure that everybody in need, can get support as quickly as possible."
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
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Source: American Paediatric Association
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
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FA CUP FINAL
Manchester City 6
(D Silva 26', Sterling 38', 81', 87', De Bruyne 61', Jesus 68')
Watford 0
Man of the match: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
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Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
if you go
The flights
Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes.
The car
Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals (more at www.hertz.com/etihad). A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.
The hotels
Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes.
More info
To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
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Three stars
The White Lotus: Season three
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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if you go
The flights
Fly to Rome with Etihad (www.etihad.ae) or Emirates (www.emirates.com) from Dh2,480 return including taxes. The flight takes six hours. Fly from Rome to Trapani with Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) from Dh420 return including taxes. The flight takes one hour 10 minutes.
The hotels
The author recommends the following hotels for this itinerary. In Trapani, Ai Lumi (www.ailumi.it); in Marsala, Viacolvento (www.viacolventomarsala.it); and in Marsala Del Vallo, the Meliaresort Dimore Storiche (www.meliaresort.it).
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Hachette Books
