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Saudi Finance Minister Heads Kingdom's Delegation ‏to IMF-WBG 2024 Spring Meetings ‏

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan gestures as he speaks during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan gestures as he speaks during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
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Saudi Finance Minister Heads Kingdom's Delegation ‏to IMF-WBG 2024 Spring Meetings ‏

Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan gestures as he speaks during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri
Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan gestures as he speaks during the Saudi Green Initiative Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 23, 2021. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri

Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan will lead the Kingdom's delegation at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group 2024 Spring Meetings in Washington from April 15 to 20.

The Saudi delegation will also include Central Bank Governor Ayman Alsayari, Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan Almarshad, Assistant Finance Minister Abdulmuhsen Alkhalaf, International Monetary and Financial Committee Deputy Chair Ryadh Alkhareif, Deputy Finance Minister Khalid Bawazier, and experts from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank, the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority.

Al-Jadaan will chair the first meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee since the Kingdom's three-year chairmanship announcement. The committee will discuss global economic developments, growth prospects, and risks, along with global economic policy priorities.

Al-Jadaan and Alsayari will also participate in the 2nd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting under the Brazilian Presidency, focusing on global economic issues and enhancing cooperation.

Additionally, Al-Jadaan will attend a meeting of the World Bank Group's Development Committee, discussing strategies for addressing global development challenges.

The spring meetings bring together finance ministers, central bankers, international organizations, private sector executives, civil society representatives, and academics to discuss global concerns, such as the economy, sustainable development, poverty eradication, and other economic and financial topics. ‏

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.