UAE, Seychelles central banks ink MoU to facilitate cross-border transactions

The agreements were inked by CBUAE Gov. Khaled Mohammed Balama and CBS Gov. Caroline Abel in Abu Dhabi. (WAM)
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Updated 19 July 2024
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UAE, Seychelles central banks ink MoU to facilitate cross-border transactions

  • First MoU to establish a framework to promote use of local currencies in settling bilateral transactions
  • Second MoU entails collaboration on services of instant payment platforms, electronic switches, messaging systems

DUBAI: The central banks of the UAE and Seychelles signed two memoranda of understanding on Friday to promote the use of local currencies in cross-border financial and commercial transactions, as well as to link payment and messaging systems between the two countries, the Emirates News Agency reported.

The agreements were inked by CBUAE Gov. Khaled Mohammed Balama and CBS Gov. Caroline Abel in Abu Dhabi.

The first MoU aims to establish a framework to promote the use of local currencies in settling bilateral commercial transactions, developing the exchange market, and facilitating bilateral trade and direct investment, remittance settlement, and financial market development.

Under the second MoU, both parties will collaborate and benefit from the services of instant payment platforms, electronic switches, and messaging systems by directly connecting them in accordance with the countries’ regulatory requirements.

This includes connecting the CBUAE’s Instant Payments Platform, which is being developed as part of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme, to the Seychelles’ similar platform to facilitate mutual acceptance of local cards and transaction processing.

Balama said that the signing of the MoU reflects the central bank’s desire to expand its ties with regional and international counterparts in order to strengthen the UAE’s economic and commercial partnerships around the world.

“The use of the two countries’ currencies for cross-border financial and commercial transactions reflects the growing trade, investment, and financial cooperation and contributes to reducing costs and saving time in settling transactions. This helps in developing the foreign exchange market in the UAE dirham and the Seychellois rupee, leading to enhancing trade exchanges, investments, and remittance between the two countries,” he explained.

Abel added: “For small open island economies like Seychelles, the importance of an effective and efficient financial system to facilitate trade cannot be overemphasized. In this regard, the MoUs just signed between our two central banks, guided by the relevant and applicable laws to safeguard the soundness and integrity of our respective financial systems, can assist this endeavor.”

She stated that the agreement to establish the necessary framework for promoting the use of UAE dirhams and Seychelles rupees in cross-border transactions will improve trade relations between stakeholders in both jurisdictions.

“With the Central Bank of Seychelles spearheading efforts to modernize and develop the Seychelles national payment system, in line with the government’s digital economy agenda, the opportunity to collaborate on interlinking our payment and messaging systems will facilitate the processing and settlement of cross-border financial transactions between the two countries,” Abel said.
 


Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results

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Algeria president re-elected with 84.3 percent of votes: official results

ALGIERS: Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has won a second term with 84.3 percent of the votes in last week's election, according to final results announced Saturday by Omar Belhadj, president of the constitutional court.
Preliminary results issued by the North African country's electoral authority ANIE on Sunday gave the incumbent nearly 95 percent of the votes, prompting other candidates to challenge the tally.


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Updated 2 min 1 sec ago
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Turkiye arrests suspected Istanbul church attack planner linked to Islamic State

  • One Turkish citizen was killed by two Daesh gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January
ANKARA: Turkish authorities have arrested a Daesh militant believed to be involved in planning an attack on the Santa Maria Italian Church in Istanbul earlier this year, the country’s intelligence agency said on Saturday.
The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) said the suspect, whom it identified as Viskhan Soltamatov, was believed to be the key figure behind the Jan. 28, 2024 attack. He was detained by MIT and police during a joint operation in Istanbul, the agency said.
MIT said Soltamatov was also believed to have supplied the weapon used in the assault.
One Turkish citizen was killed by two Daesh gunmen at the Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul in January.
The church attack was orchestrated by IS-linked operatives from the group’s Khorasan Province (ISKP), a faction active in Afghanistan. In April, Turkiye had arrested 48 people believed to be linked to the attack.

Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates

Updated 2 min 1 sec ago
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Tunisian court orders electoral commission to reinstate presidential candidates

  • The move by the Administrative Court comes amid growing political tension in the North African country
  • Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets on Friday in the country’s biggest march in two years

TUNIS: Tunisia’s highest court on Saturday ordered the electoral commission to reinstate two candidates for a presidential poll in October, warning that failure to do so could jeopardize the legitimacy of the election.
The move by the Administrative Court comes amid growing political tension in the North African country and fears from the opposition and civil society groups about a rigged election that would lead to President Kais Saied winning a second term.
Thousands of Tunisians took to the streets on Friday in the country’s biggest march in two years, protesting against restrictions on freedoms and the undemocratic electoral climate.
The protesters chanted slogans including “Out with dictator Saied.”
Tensions mounted after the electoral commission earlier this month rejected the court’s decision to restore the candidacy of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi and Imed Daimi ahead of the Oct.6 race, citing alleged irregularities in their candidacy filings.
Major parties and civil society groups said that the commission, whose members were appointed by the president himself, had became a tool in the hands of the president against his rivals.
The head of the commission Farouk Bouasker has denied the accusations and said that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election.”
But the court said on Saturday that the commission is obligated to implement its decision and, if necessary, to review the electoral calendar. It is not clear if this means postponing the election or extending the campaign timeframe.
“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process,” it said.
The court asked Znaidi and Mekki to be included in the race, after they filed a new complaint against the commission’s decision. The third candidate, Daimi, has not filed a second appeal yet.
Saied was democratically elected in 2019, but then tightened his grip on power and began ruling by decree in 2021 in a move the opposition has described as a coup.


Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Updated 14 September 2024
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Salvagers launch new attempt to tow an oil tanker blown up by Yemen’s Houthi rebels

  • EU’s Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion

DUBAI: A new attempt has begun to try to salvage an oil tanker burning in the Red Sea after attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, a European Union naval mission said Saturday.
The EU’s Operation Aspides published images dated Saturday of its vessels escorting ships heading to the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion.
The mission has “been actively involved in this complex endeavor, by creating a secure environment, which is necessary for the tugboats to conduct the towing operation,” the EU said.
A phone number for the mission rang unanswered Saturday.


The Sounion came under attack from the Houthis beginning Aug. 21. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti.
The Houthis later planted explosives aboard the ship and detonated them. That’s led to fears the ship’s 1 million barrels of crude oil could spill into the Red Sea.
The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. One of the sunken vessels, the Tutor, went down after the Houthis planted explosives aboard it and after its crew abandoned it due to an earlier attack, the rebel group later acknowledged.
Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a US-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets.
The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.


Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet

Updated 14 September 2024
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Syria’s Assad names ex-minister Jalali to form cabinet

CAIRO: Syrian President Bashar Assad issued a decree naming former communications minister Mohammad Ghazi Al-Jalali to form a new cabinet, state media said on Saturday.
The new cabinet will replace an outgoing administration which has been serving in a caretaker role since parliamentary elections in mid-July.
Al-Jalali served as communications minister from 2014-2016. He has been subject to EU sanctions. 
since 2014 for his “responsibility for the regime’s violent repression of the civilian population.”
According to UN figures, at least 350,000 people have been killed in Syria’s civil war, which erupted in 2011 from an uprising against Assad’s rule.