The UAE Ministry of Finance met an International Monetary Fund mission in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to examine government finances, public debt and economic policy priorities as the Fund began its 2026 assessment of the country.
The discussions at the ministry’s headquarters covered fiscal performance in 2025 and developments during 2026, including the balance between government revenue and expenditure, corporate tax collections and the outlook for public borrowing.
Younis Haji AlKhoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, attended alongside Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Assistant Undersecretary for International Financial Relations, and Saeed Bakhash, head of the IMF mission to the UAE. Specialists from both institutions also participated.
Officials examined the medium-term fiscal framework, fiscal risk management and the government’s debt strategy. The agenda included conditions in domestic capital markets, the maturity profile of outstanding debt and an issuance programme extending through 2032.
The ministry said the talks sought to improve the efficiency of public financial management and strengthen institutional arrangements governing fiscal planning. Participants also assessed public revenue performance and discussed how policy priorities could respond to changes in the global economic environment.
Corporate tax implementation featured prominently. The two sides considered developments in the operation of the tax system and the performance of associated revenues, alongside their implications for the government’s broader fiscal position. The ministry did not disclose collection figures or announce changes to tax rates following the meeting.
The meeting formed part of the IMF’s 2026 Article IV consultation, an assessment of member countries’ economic policies and prospects. The Central Bank of the UAE separately opened the consultation on Wednesday, with the mission scheduled to remain in the country until 17 November.
Central bank governor Khaled Mohamed Balama, who also serves as the UAE’s governor at the IMF, inaugurated that process. The central bank said consultations would involve federal and local government bodies, private sector representatives and financial authorities, covering economic performance, monetary policy and banking supervision.
Its agenda includes inflation, financial stability, banking sector resilience, financial infrastructure and the supervision of financial institutions. Officials will also examine risk management and measures against money laundering and terrorist financing. The IMF mission is expected to prepare an assessment of the economy following its consultations.
The fiscal discussions come against an uncertain regional economic backdrop. Following a July visit, IMF staff assessed the UAE economy as resilient despite disruption linked to the Middle East conflict, while warning that uncertainty had weighed on tourism, transport, trade and property activity.
The Fund expected overall economic growth to moderate during 2026 before recovering in 2027, supported by increased hydrocarbon production and improving non-oil activity. It also anticipated a continued government fiscal surplus in 2026, although smaller than previously, and identified relatively low public debt as a source of fiscal flexibility.
Those assessments provide context for the ministry’s examination of expenditure, revenue and debt maturities. The Fund had advised that policy responses remain targeted and adaptable should economic conditions deteriorate, while supporting investment and measures intended to sustain activity.
The ministry emphasised transparency and flexible fiscal planning during Wednesday’s discussions. It described exchanges with IMF specialists as part of a continuing consultative relationship and said international standards remained central to its approach to financial administration and regulatory practices.
The review also addressed the relationship between current fiscal results and future budget planning. Participants considered how developments during 2026 could affect the general budget and the balance between spending commitments and available resources, without announcing revised budget totals.
Separately, the UAE’s General Budget Committee examined the strategic framework for the 2027–2029 federal budget cycle in September. That planning exercise provides a domestic setting for discussions about medium-term expenditure management and the treatment of financial risks.
The central bank said its consultations would assess monetary and fiscal policies together with the regulatory framework for banking and financial services. That work is distinct from the ministry’s detailed examination of revenue, expenditure and sovereign debt, but both contribute information to the IMF’s assessment of economic conditions and policy priorities.
The IMF’s Article IV process ordinarily involves gathering economic information, consulting public authorities and evaluating policy settings before staff findings are considered through the Fund’s established procedures. Wednesday’s ministry meeting was one component of that wider consultation programme.
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