Delegation of Executive Office of Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing visits Washington

A delegation from the Executive Office of Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing and the Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation has visited Washington, D.C., and met with officials from the US government, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Institute of International Finance, and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the US.

The delegation participated in discussions with key partners as part of the ongoing coordination between the two countries, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and exchanging information and expertise.

The delegation was led by Hamid AlZaabi, Director-General of the Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing; and Talal Al Tunaiji, Executive Office for Control and Non-Proliferation. The delegation met with senior US officials from the Departments of Justice and the Treasury.

AlZaabi affirmed that the visit comes within the framework of the strategic partnership between the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He said: "The United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are working closely together to coordinate continuously through a strategic partnership to combat financial crimes and protect the global financial system and our national economies. I would like to thank our partners for the fruitful discussions on a range of topics, including the progress made by the UAE in the FATF action plan; global trends in combating money laundering and terrorist financing; recent developments in public-private partnerships; and in joint training plans and capacity building."

AlZaabi added: "There is no doubt that the joint projects we are working on contribute to strengthening our national systems. We're also looking forward to participating in the meeting of the Working Group of the Economic Policy Dialogue between the United Arab Emirates and the United States to Combat Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism in Washington, D.C. next month. We're also looking forward to welcoming our American partners to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, COP28, which will be held in November this year at Dubai Expo City, as well as in the Abu Dhabi Finance Week 2023 at the end of this year."

The delegation visited the World Bank Group to review the progress made in the latest National Risk Assessment in the UAE, which is being implemented by the Expert Group for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) in collaboration with the World Bank Group.

The meeting with the International Monetary Fund also touched on global developments in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and ongoing initiatives, including a workshop on virtual assets scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi in November 2023 as well as the project of cross-border capital flows.

It is worth noting that the Executive Office of Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing is a member of the International Monetary Fund, where a meeting was held with senior executives to discuss participation in official events and the organisation of a joint online seminar.