News

Abu Dhabi, August 10, 2023: Buna (the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”), will hold its 43rd workshop today, on Thursday August 10th, 2023. On the path paving the way to the COP28, hosted by the United Arab Emirates, the workshop will demonstrate the relevance of sustainability and ESG policies for Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) and how Buna responds to these challenges. The workshop will also address the criticality of business continuity in Financial Market Infrastructures and discuss some of the challenges and the strategies in place set to mitigate potential risks in Buna.

On this occasion, H.E. the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt expressed his appreciation for the AMF’s continued support and the important role it plays in strengthening the ability of Arab countries to maintain economic and financial stability and face different challenges. In turn, H.E. the Director General of the AMF valued the efforts pursued by the Egyptian government to implement economic and structural reforms, which contribute significantly to the development of the Egyptian economy and sustaining an enabling environment for the domestic and foreign business sectors, stressing the AMF keenness to continue the fruitful partnership with the Egyptian government to help the country address the different challenges in the most effective way.

Abu Dhabi, June 22^nd, 2023:Buna (the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”), will hold its 42^nd workshop, on Thursday June 22^nd. The workshop will demonstrate how Buna contribute to greater financial inclusion by interlinking countries and region. The workshop will also serve to unveil newest Buna products and achievements. 

One of the workshop’s sessions will demonstrate how, by connecting one region to another, Buna can influence opportunities of trade and investments between countries, and benefit individual citizens. In this context, our high level guest speakers, the deputy governor of the State Bank of Pakistan and the Deputy Director of the Financial Services for the Poor from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will elaborate on the recent initiative aiming to interlink Buna with Raast the instant payment system operated by the State Bank of Pakistan. 

Within the efforts made by the Arab Monetary Fund on studies and research activities to support economic institutions in Arab countries on issues of climate change and the relationship between the economy and the environment, the Fund published a study on "The GDP-CO₂ Emissions Nexus in Arab Countries". The study aims to shed light on the relationship between economic activities and carbon dioxide emissions. The study analyses the relationship between countries' economic and environmental performance for the period from 1990 to 2020. 

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) has conducted an important study titled "Impacts of Financial Inclusion on Human Capital Development in the Arab Region." The study sheds light on financial inclusion’s significant role in promoting human capital development, a key driver of economic growth, in Arab countries.

Financial inclusion has emerged as a crucial policy objective in numerous countries, particularly the developing world. The AMF's study examines the nexus between financial inclusion and human capital development over 15 years from 2004 to 2019, focusing specifically on Arab countries.

Human capital, which encompasses the economic value of an individual's skills, knowledge, and health, has long been recognized as a catalyst for sustained economic growth and social inclusivity. Investing in people's education, health, and well-being has proven instrumental in driving economic development and creating more inclusive societies.

As part of its efforts to assist policy-makers in Arab countries, the Arab Monetary Fund has released the 18th edition of its "Arab Economic Outlook" report, which contains projections of the overall economic performance of Arab countries on multiple levels for the years 2023 and 2024.

Abu Dhabi, 26 May 2023: The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) extended a new ordinary loan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with an amount of Arab Accounting Dinar 12.79 million, the equivalent of approximately USD 51 million to support the economic reforms implemented by the kingdom. The disbursement of the loan was processed through “Buna”, the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF.” It cements its position as a reliable partner for central banks and financial institutions. 

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) extended a new Ordinary Loan to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with the amount of Arab Accounting Dinar 12.79 million, the equivalent of approximately USD 51 million. The loan agreement was signed on Monday, May 15, 2023, by H.E. Dr. Mohammad Al-Ississ, Minister of Finance, on behalf of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and H.E. Dr. Abdulrahman A. Al Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the AMF, on behalf of the AMF, with the aim to avail financial resources to support the country’s financial position and its efforts to implement economic and financial reforms.

Abu Dhabi, May 10^th, 2023:Buna (the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”), announces the launch of its service supporting a more accessible and more secure foreign exchange (FX) market.

The new service offers an open and modern marketplace for FX, where participants in the Buna system can benefit from a modern set of APIs to exchange information and agree on the terms of their FX deals directly between each other, without the involvement of Buna or any other intermediary in these deals.

The processing of the resulting transactions is then done immediately in a safe and secure way by using the Payment versus Payment (PvP) mechanism, which ensures that settlement in one currency occurs if and only if the settlement of the other currency occurs simultaneously. 

Abu Dhabi, May 4^th, 2023:Buna (the cross-border payment system operated by Arab Regional Payments Clearing and Settlement Organization “ARPCSO”, owned by The Arab Monetary Fund “AMF”), will hold, on Thursday May 4^th, the 41^st edition of its virtual workshops to explore the status of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), current initiatives and their outlook.

Buna aims to bring the latest developments and advancements to this topic and promote innovation and progress in the financial sector.  To achieve that, this workshop will host high-level guest speakers representing Bank of International Settlement (BIS), Banque de France, Banca d’Italia, SWIFT, and others, who will provide a comprehensive overview of the topic from practical and strategic perspectives. The objective will be to anticipate potential future developments relating to CBDCs and how the financial industry can prepare for the changing landscape.