The Banking Executive Magazine - Issue 150, June 2021

The Seventh Annual Arab – Cypriot Forum ther develop the flourishing cooper- ation with the Cypriot banking and financial sector for the seventh con- secutive year and based on the enor- mous success witnessed by the previous forum entitled “The Sixth Annual Arab – Cypriot Forum: AML/CFT Compliance with Interna- tional Regulations and Adopting MONEYVAL’s Principles & Recom- mendations”. The Seventh Annual Arab – Cypriot Forum was sponsored by Astrobank and Credit Libanais. OPENING CEREMONY The event was inaugurated with and opening ceremony where speeches were delivered by Mr. Michael Kam- mas, Director General of the Associ- ation of Cyprus Banks, Cyprus, Mr. Wissam H. Fattouh, Secretary Gen- eral, Union of Arab Banks and World Union of Arab Bankers, Dr. Shadi Karam, Chairman of the Board of Di- rectors, Astro Bank, Cyprus, Mr. Mar- ios Tannousis, Deputy Director General, Cyprus Investment Promo- tion Agency, Cyprus, and H.E. Mr. Constantinos Herodotou, Governor, Central Bank of Cyprus to whose speech was delivered via zoom by Mr. Marios Neoptolemou, Assistant Director, AML/CFT, Financial Con- duct and Supervision of Investment Services Department, Central Bank of Cyprus. SPEECH BY MR. WISSAM FATTOUH, SECRETARY GENERAL, WORLD UNION OF ARAB BANKERS AND UNION OF ARAB BANKS Good morning ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to begin by expressing how pleased I am that we are finally moving forward with recovery efforts from the pandemic with improve- ment in health conditions and better travel restrictions which provided us the ability to convene physically here in Cyprus that has welcomed us and presented the opportunity of intellec- tual and social closeness while ad- hering with international guidelines and precautionary standards. I would like to express my thanks ISSUE 150 JUNE 2021 the BANKING EXECUTIVE 45 Mr. Wissam Fattouh, Secretary General, World Union of Arab Bankers and Union of Arab Banks