BI And The Central Bank Of The United Arab Emirates Agree To Expand Islamic Financial Cooperation

Illustration of cooperation agreement (doc BI)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates - CBUAE) have agreed to expand cooperation between the two central banks. The expansion of the cooperation was stated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Governor of Bank Indonesia, Perry Warjiyo, and the Governor of CBUAE, Khaled Mohamed Balama on November 29, 2023.

The cooperation between the two central banks is an important part of the achievement in the meeting between the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, and the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on December 1, 2023, on the sidelines of the COP 28 event in Dubai, UAE.

This memorandum of understanding is an extension of the agreement between BI and CBUAE in 2021 which focuses on cooperation in the field of payment systems and digital financial innovation.

Through this Memorandum of Understanding in 2023, the two central banks are committed to strengthening cooperation through a more structured and systematic framework in various central bank areas such as monetary, macroprudential, financial stability, payment systems and digital financial innovation as well as various areas of Islamic economics and finance.

Governor Perry Warjiyo conveyed that this memorandum of understanding also shows the commitment of the two central banks in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing, as well as fulfilling the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

"The implementation of cooperation will be carried out through policy dialogue, information exchange, technical cooperation, and capacity development," he explained in his official statement Sunday, December 3.

Perry emphasized that the memorandum of understanding with CBUAE was an important milestone in strengthening BI and CBUAE relations as well as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. The expansion of cooperation confirms the partnership between the two central banks which is increasingly solid.

According to Perry, this memorandum of understanding also proves the contribution of the two central banks in fighting money laundering and terrorism financing activities, as well as fulfilling FATF recommendations. In addition, good relations between the two central banks will provide significant benefits to the economy of the two countries.