At the end of their meeting held here today, Finance Ministers and Governors of Monetary Agencies and Central Banks in member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council issued a statement explaining that they discussed the financial crisis suffered by the international financial markets, the precautionary measures taken by the GCC countries to confront any possible effects, the importance of continued monitoring of the future developments and readiness to confront them. The statement said the participants in the meeting stressed their confidence in the stability of the financial sector in their countries due to its solvency and strength in addition to the good domestic economic situation enabling the dealing with any possible effects of the international financial crisis. The growth of the economies of the GCC countries is expected to continue with good rates. The spending appropriations for the development projects in the GCC countries will continue. The pace of role of the private sector in the economic development will accelerate, the statement said. The participants lauded the banking control regulations of the GCC countries and their role in the protection and safety of the banking system which enjoys a great amount of liquidity and efficiency of capital. The participants stressed the importance of the continued strengthening of the control capabilities of the financial sector to deal with developments. They also stressed the importance of boosting coordination among control agencies to monitor the international financial crisis' developments, the statement added. The participants commended the measures taken by the GCC countries to deal with any possible effects of the international financial crisis and readiness to take any additional measures. The participants expressed satisfaction for statements by the International Monetary and Financial Committee and the Group of 20 on taking the appropriate measures to deal with the current financial crisis.
