Union of Arab Banks Honors His Excellency Mr. Azzam Shawwa with the "Union Golden Medal of Achievement"

The Union of Arab Banks honored the Governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA), HE Mr. Azzam Shawwa, with the award of the "Union Golden Medal of Achievement" at the 2018 Arab Banking Conference held in Cairo, Egypt, under the patronage of HE Mr. Tareq Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt and with the participation of Arab banking leaders. The award was presented by HE. Sheikh Mohammed Jarrah Al Sabah, Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, HE. Dr. Joseph Tarbih, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Arab Bankers, HE Mr. Tarek Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, HE Mr. Mohammed Al Atribi Member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Banks of Egypt.

Representatives from Arab and regional institutions including HE Mohammed Al Atribi, Vice Chairman of the Union of Banks of Egypt, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt, and Ambassador Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, participated in the conference, which was organized by the Union of Arab Banks in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt and the Union of Egyptian Banks, under the title "Innovations of Financial Technology and the Future of Banking Services". 

His Excellency the Governor Azzam Shawwa headed a Palestinian delegation from the banking sector, included Dr. Riyad Abu Shehadeh, Assistant Governor for Financial Stability and Banking Supervision, who was a speaker at a session, entitled "The Role of Central Banks in Supporting Digital Transformation and Meeting New Regulatory and Regulatory Challenges".

His Excellency the Governor of the PMA said, “This honor is a tribute to Palestine and its benevolent people and the institutions of the State, in which PMA and the banking system represent one of the most prominent of these institutions, compared with their international counterparts in professionalism, efficiency and development”. Adding that this is an additional incentive for further achievements, pointing to the strength and integrity of the Palestinian banking sector, and that the transformation of the PMA into a fully-fledged central bank is in its final stages. Its policies and procedures have been praised by international institutions, foremost among them the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Mr. Ismail Hassan, former Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, and Mr. Mohamed Kamal El-Din Barakat, the former Chairman of Board of Directors of Union of Arab Banks, and Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Arab International Bank were also honored.

The conference aims to shed light on the developments in financial technology and the future of financial services and the challenges facing these developments, enhance the supervision of electronic banking operations, and the role of governments, central banks, markets and financial institutions in achieving financial and economic stability.