The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and Bank Al-Maghrib have signed two memoranda of understanding aimed at strengthening cooperation in banking supervision and Islamic finance, as well as linking payment and financial messaging systems, contributing to closer bilateral cooperation and more efficient cross-border financial transactions between the two countries.
According to a statement obtained by Le360, the memoranda were signed by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and Abdellatif Jouahri, Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib, at the central bank’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
Under the first memorandum of understanding, the two sides will strengthen cooperation on regulatory and supervisory matters and exchange supervisory information concerning banks and financial institutions operating in the two countries.
They will also coordinate on supervisory practices and systems, exchange expertise and build institutional capacity, strengthen coordination between Sharia governance bodies for Islamic banking, and develop Sharia-compliant cross-border financing, including trade finance and infrastructure investment.
The second memorandum of understanding aims to explore the possibility of linking instant payment platforms, national card switches and financial messaging systems in the two countries to facilitate the processing and settlement of cross-border transactions and enable the mutual acceptance of domestic payment cards, in accordance with the regulatory and supervisory requirements of both countries.
The memorandum also covers the exchange of expertise in developing central bank digital currencies for individuals and institutions, exploring ways to use them for cross-border payments between the two countries, cooperation in financial technology, and regulatory and supervisory frameworks for virtual assets, including crypto assets and stablecoins, as well as related consumer protection mechanisms.
On this occasion, Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, said in the statement:
“The signing of the two memoranda of understanding with Bank Al-Maghrib reflects our keenness to expand financial and banking cooperation with the brotherly Kingdom of Morocco, in line with the vision of the wise leadership and in support of the shared interests of the two countries. Through this cooperation, we look forward to exchanging supervisory expertise, developing Islamic finance solutions and exploring opportunities to strengthen connectivity between payment systems, contributing to building a more efficient and innovative financial sector and supporting economic and trade relations between the two countries.”
For his part, Abdellatif Jouahri, Wali of Bank Al-Maghrib, said:
“The signing of the two memoranda of understanding represents an important step in strengthening the partnership between Bank Al-Maghrib and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and expanding coordination in the fields of supervision, regulation and Islamic finance. This partnership also opens up prospects for developing and accelerating cross-border financial transactions and exploring ways to use central bank digital currencies in payments between the two countries, contributing to greater efficiency in financial transactions and strengthening cooperation between the two institutions.”
