H.E. PMA Governor Meets Governor of Bank of Algeria to Discuss Ways to Promote Exchange of Expertise and Banking Collaboration
H.E. Governor of the PMA, Mr. Azzam Shawwa, met today with the H.E. Governor of the Bank of Algeria, Dr. Mohammed Laksaci, in the Algerian capital. The parties discussed ways to strengthen ties and exchange expertise in the area of banking supervision and other areas of mutual interest. The meeting was held within the frame of the MoU signed between the PMA and the Bank of Algeria in 2014. It took place during the visit of H.E. Governor Shawwa to the sister Republic of Algeria as head of PMA delegation consisting of Assistant to the Governor for Financial Stability Affairs, Mr. Riyad Abu Shehadeh, and Head of the Financial Follow-up Unit, Mr. Wael Lafi.
Governor Shawwa delivered H.E. President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas ‘s greetings to H.E. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his gratitude to sister Algeria for the unabated support to Palestine. Governor Shawwa praised the special and strong relationship which connects Palestine with Algeria, a country that was never hesitant to provide all the forms of support to the Palestinian people and its fair cause. Dr. Laksaci commended the PMA for the outstanding performance and the renowned status it earned, both regionally and internationally. He stressed the significance of the exceptional and fruitful level of cooperation attained between the PMA and the Bank of Algeria. He affirmed Bank of Algeria readiness and aspiration towards further collaboration in the areas of mutual interest in order to serve the mutual interests of the sister countries.
In presence of H.E. Governor of the Bank of Algeria, his deputies, department heads and high ranking officers and employees of the Bank of Algeria and the Algerian banking system, H.E. PMA Governor delivered a speech about the financial stability in Palestine and the relevant experience of the PMA. H.E. the Governor touched on the PMA measures aimed at promoting the robustness and stability of the banking system given the extra-ordinary conditions prevailing in Palestine; measures that were praised by international financial institutions; most importantly by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, in particular in the areas of risk and crisis management.
In turn, Assistant of Governor, Mr. Riyad Abu Shehadeh, expressed his appreciation for the continued collaboration in the areas field inspection and desk of supervision, business continuity, disaster recovery and the development of the Credit Bureau. He also expressed PMA readiness to exchange expertise with the Bank of Algeria in the different areas of banking and banking supervision in order to consolidate and strengthen the mutual relationship with the Bank of Algeria in a manner that maximizes the human resource expertise for both central banks.
The Governor of the PMA and his accompanying delegation paid a visit to the Algerian Minister of Finance, Mr. Abdul Rahman Bin Khalfa. At the beginning of the meeting, the Governor of the PMA conveyed the greetings of H.E. President of Palestine and H.E. the Prime Minister. The Governor then briefed the Minister of Finance on banking and financial developments, achievements and challenges specific to the Palestinian economy.
On a different note, H.E. the Governor and his accompanying delegation visited the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Algeria, where they were met by Ambassador Dr. Loai Issa and representatives of the Palestinian community and businessmen who introduced the delegation to their conditions and various activities. Likewise, they were briefed on the goals of the delegation’s visit to the Bank of Algeria.
It is worth mentioning that, over the last year and in line with the MoU signed between the Bank of Algeria and the PMA, the Financial Follow-up Unit (FFU) has concluded the design and implementation of an accreditation program similar to the Palestine Anti-Money Laundering Accreditation (PAMLA) suitably adopted to the requirements of Algerian legal and legislative environment. Accordingly, the FFU provided the relevant expertise to over 30 inspectors in the Bank of Algeria. The program was implemented over four consecutive stages, during which experts from the FFU offered Bank of Algeria inspectors over 60 hours of appropriate training which was concluded by conducting program examinations. During the visit, Mr. Wael Lafi delivered an in-depth presentation on the most important developments and the international standards in the area of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing. He commended the Algerian trainee inspectors for the competence which was apparent during the PAMLA training; one fruit of cooperation with the Bank of Algeria.
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