National Bank of Georgia (NBG) President Natia Turnava met with Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in Bangkok, Thailand, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the National Bank of Georgia reported.

During the meeting, the two central banks signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening financial and supervisory cooperation, facilitating the exchange of information and expertise in central banking, and supporting the development and financial stability of both countries’ banking and financial sectors.

The memorandum also provides for promoting innovation in financial technology, sharing knowledge and experience, building institutional capacity and conducting joint research.

Turnava briefed her UAE counterpart on the achievements of Georgia’s financial and banking sectors, highlighting their resilience and sound liquidity indicators. She also outlined the NBG’s efforts to modernize payment infrastructure, including a major upgrade of the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system and the development of an instant payment system (IPS).

According to Turnava, the memorandum will help deepen cooperation between the central banks and facilitate the exchange of best practices in financial sector development.

“This memorandum lays the groundwork for strengthening cooperation with the Central Bank of the UAE and exchanging expertise in central banking, supervision and financial technologies. We attach particular importance to the opportunities it offers for capacity building and sharing best practices in the development of payment systems and financial services. This will help facilitate cross-border transactions and support the development of the banking and financial sectors in both countries,” Turnava said.

UAE Central Bank Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama noted that the memorandum creates new opportunities for cooperation between the two central banks.

NBG First Vice President Ekaterine Mikabadze also attended the meeting.

The annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank bring together representatives of international financial institutions, central banks and the financial sector. Discussions focus on global economic trends, financial stability and opportunities to strengthen international cooperation.