UAE and South Sudan Central Banks sign MoU

Signing ceremony witnessed by senior officials

The signing of the agreement was witnessed by Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Benjamin Bol Mel, Vice President of South Sudan. The MoU was signed on behalf of the Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE by Saif Humaid Al Dhaheri, Assistant Governor for Banking Operations and Support Services at the Central Bank of the UAE, and Dr. Addis Ababa Otto, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan.

Support for security printing and payment systems

Under this MoU, the Central Bank will provide innovative solutions for the security printing of banknotes in South Sudan through "Omlat", a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE. Al Etihad Payments, another subsidiary of the Central Bank, will support the Bank of South Sudan in developing a payment card system in two phases.

Two-phase payment card infrastructure development

In the first phase, comprehensive and advanced solutions will be introduced for switching and processing payment card transactions in South Sudan, in line with global standards of efficiency, security, and data confidentiality. In the second phase, Al Etihad Payments will assist in building the local infrastructure to process these transactions within South Sudan.

Exchange of expertise and training

The MoU also covers the exchange of information and expertise, and the provision of technical support and training for Bank of South Sudan employees in banking supervision and monetary operations. This will be facilitated through programmes provided by the Emirates Institute of Finance, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the UAE.

UAE Central Bank highlights strategic vision

On this occasion, Khalid Mohammed Balama, Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE, said the MoU reflects the UAE’s strategic efforts to develop strong financial partnerships with friendly nations like South Sudan. He emphasised the importance of sharing expertise to support the stability of the regional and global financial system.

South Sudan welcomes enhanced cooperation

Dr Addis Ababa Otto, Governor of the Bank of South Sudan, expressed his appreciation for the UAE’s support, highlighting the importance of this MoU in deepening economic and financial cooperation between the two countries. He noted the value of the UAE’s expertise in security printing and fintech development and reaffirmed South Sudan’s commitment to achieving shared goals in line with international standards.