Abu Dhabi's financial center, Abu Dhabi Global Market, will sign a memorandum of understanding with Israel Securities Authority and Israel's biggest lender, Bank Hapoalim, to support financial technology, ADGM chairman Ahmed Ali al-Sayegh said on Wednesday.
After the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel agreed to normalize relations in August, the two countries have signed a host of accords to boost economic and business ties.
Last month, the two countries signed an agreement that would give incentives and protection to investors who make investments in each other's countries.
Abdulhamid Saeed Alahmadi, governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said at the same conference the central bank will issue a series of regulations over the coming months on fintech.
These would cover areas such as licensing and supervisory requirements for the stored value facility used for payment of goods or services, large-value payment system regulation and retail payment system regulation.
The central bank is also looking at a common regulatory framework for fintech solution providers and an evaluation of the distribution and use of digital currency, he said.
The FinTech Abu Dhabi Festival (FinTech AD), the MENA region’s largest event focused on innovation in financial services, kicked off on Tuesday and will run until Thursday.
"Our goal is to continuously develop a mature ecosystem that encourages entrepreneurship and creativity in the FinTech space, by leveraging pragmatic lessons and best practices provided by our peers from around the globe. This is part of our broader vision to establish the UAE as an international hub for financial sector innovation and growth," said Alahmadi on Tuesday.
