• Al-Alaq also met with his Jordanian counterpart to discuss ways to boost banking and financial ties

Arab News

AMMAN: Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, met with Jordan’s Prime Minister Bishr Khasawneh on Sunday, Jordan News Agency reported.

Khasawneh stressed his commitment to expanding collaboration, notably in the economic and banking sectors.

Speaking about his visit to Baghdad in July, Khasawneh said the two countries had agreed to strengthen cooperation in several fields, whether through bilateral efforts or as part of the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt.

Earlier, Al-Alaq also met with his Jordanian counterpart Adel Sharkas to discuss ways to boost banking and financial ties.

The two addressed banking issues of mutual interest, developments in central bank work, and trends in global monetary policies. They also examined inflationary pressures that have led many central banks around the world to maintain tight monetary policies.

Sharkas and Al-Alaq signed an agreement that provides for cooperation and knowledge exchange in electronic payment systems and services, financial technology, cybersecurity, staff training, and combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

Sharkas emphasized the significance of the agreement at a time when economic relations between the two countries are advancing steadily.

He noted that Jordanian banks are looking to create a foothold in the Iraqi market, pointing to four Jordanian branches that have secured licenses to operate in Iraq, with two branches already active.

Al-Alaq praised the historical Jordanian-Iraqi ties, emphasizing the CBI’s desire to benefit from Jordanian experience in digitalization, financial innovations, and payment systems.