TANAKA Akihiko

Signing ceremony

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have pledged to deepen their cooperation in order to effectively respond to the needs of the financial/monetary authorities in the AMF member countries. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by AMF and JICA today, sets out a framework for their further cooperation in the region.

AMF promotes the monetary foundation of Arab economic integration and supports the process of economic development in its member countries. JICA, as one of the most active international development agencies in the region, looks forward to better tackling expanding needs of the Arab countries, especially within the current context of regional economic challenges.

Cooperation under the MOU between the two institutions will allow them to achieve synergies and to leverage their respective core competencies and comparative advantages.

In particular, AMF and JICA will collaborate in delivering joint technical assistance programs to the AMF member Countries, and in strengthening capacity development assistance programs for the staff from these countries in the areas of mutual interest, with AMF's long experience and JICA's large involvement on various fronts in the region.

At the signing ceremony, JICA President, Akihiko TANAKA, said: “This MOU will be a very good starting point for concretizing specific field programs, thus enhancing capacity development assistance for Arab financial sector”.

AMF’s Director General and Chairman of the Board, Abdulrahman
Al Hamidy, stressed: “AMF’s extensive experience in assisting in the development of the financial sector and capital markets in the region, and in supporting capacity development effort in our member countries, has always been among our top priorities, and we look forward to pursuing and intensifying this effort to better tackle the needs in our region. This is precisely our incentive to enlarge our cooperation today with JICA, the most active Japanese organization in the region with its large experience on several domains”.

Cooperation will focus on information sharing, joint missions and training programs, and coordinated policy dialogue with the aim of contributing to the economic development and financial stability in the region.