Sudanese bank Governor offers know-how in Islamic banking

November 15, 2017 in Finance, Financial Services, Trade & Industry by Editor

November 15—The Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan has offered know-how into Islamic banking after a meeting with top management at the Bank of Uganda on the sidelines of President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir’s two-day visit to Uganda this week.

In talks with Dr. Louis Kasekende, the deputy BoU Governor, Governor Hazim Abdelgadir expressed readiness to share Sudan’s rich experience in Islamic finance and banking in light of the recent legislation that paved way for the introduction of Islamic banking products in Uganda, and agreed to the proposal to expedite Sudan’s participation in the COMESA REPSS.

REPSS is an electronic platform that facilitates cross-border payments within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa region.

BoU and the Central Bank of Sudan have agreed to explore ways to consolidate and expand trade and investment between the two countries.

The two agreed to start on a formal arrangement through a memorandum of understanding to guide the two Central banks in the various areas of cooperation such as payments systems and correspondent banking; capacity building; and other avenues of facilitation of trade and investment between the two countries.

Dr. Kasekende said, “We can exploit existing opportunities under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) regional initiative for purposes of trade facilitation such as the COMESA Regional Payment and Settlement System (REPSS) as well as leverage the financial institutions operating in both countries to foster economic relations”.

Uganda is one of the eight countries that are fully participating in the COMESA REPSS.The system allows for faster, cheaper and secure transfer of funds by both importers and exporters within the COMESA region. In addition to leveraging the regional integration initiatives; the two Central banks committed to strenghten bilateral relations.

At the end of the meeting, Deputy Governor Dr. Kasekende handed over a copy of a book titled, ‘The Golden Odyssey, Bank of Uganda 1966-2016′, published by the Bank of Uganda to commemorate its 50th anniversary.