The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Dubai’s Ministry of Finance are to co-host a FinTech seminar focusing on blockchain and digital currencies next month.

The mid-February event, announced today, will include notable speakers such as IMF managing director Christine Lagarde, Luxembourg minister of finance Pierre Gramegna, and Dubai minister of state for financial affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer.

Dubai’s government is already working on blockchain-based systems for use in government services, including as a backup record for official documentation. It has also backed a collaborative initiative aimed at promoting work between startups, government agencies and local businesses.

Some of these concepts are likely to be on display at the Dubai seminar next month.

Al Tayer said in a statement:

“The seminar will cover a number of important topics including virtual currencies, and the underlying distributed ledgers through [blockchain] technology. These topics have been at the centre of recent debates about how digital innovation changes financial fields.”

The event coincides with the conclusion of the UAE’s government-backed blockchain hackathon, organized by AngelHack and supported on the technical side by ethereum startup ConsenSys. The winners of the hackathon will be announced during the summit.

Dubai image via Shutterstock