Central banks at the front line of COVID-19 crisis recovery
30 June 2021, Barcelona. The Conference of the Governors of Mediterranean Central Banks took place online on 28 June 2021. Organised by the Banco de España, the Central Bank of Tunisia, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed), the conference tackled the recovery from the COVID-19 crisis across the Euro-Mediterranean area and a sustainable, inclusive, green and digital development agenda.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments across the Mediterranean to take severe measures to curtail socioeconomic activities, which has caused a substantial economic slowdown in many countries of the region. In face of this crisis, central banks have played a key role in ensuring the stability of financial markets and securing the continuation of credit flows to households and businesses.
In addition to addressing macroeconomic and financial stabilization needs, central banks’ policies will be also be crucial in accelerating a sustainability transition by enhancing green finance and steering credit towards sustainable investments.
The Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, Mr. Nasser Kamel, participated in the event and gave concluding remarks, highlighting the need for a smart recovery incorporating innovative instruments and digital technologies:
“At the UfM Secretariat, we have played a role in helping our member states deal with the effects of the pandemic. Digitalisation is one important aspect that has proved key in managing the new normal under the pandemic. It is one of the priorities fixed by our foreign ministers at the last regional forum in November 2020, and we have organized a number of activities since then to help advance digitalisation and other practices such as e-governance in the region.”
After past editions in Rabat, Barcelona, Tunis and Madrid, this year was the 6th edition of a joint initiative that aims to further strengthen links between Central Banks in the Mediterranean by fostering a comprehensive dialogue on the economic and financial situation of the region, mainly from the perspective of the governors of Mediterranean Central Banks. 10 central banks from the Mediterranean region participated, in addition to the European Central Bank, represented by the Governors and high-level officials.
