The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in a bilateral meeting in Abu Dhabi on 29 May, have agreed to enhance collaboration between the two jurisdictions on virtual asset regulations and development.   In addition, the two central banks facilitated discussions between their respective innovation hubs on joint fintech development initiatives and knowledge sharing efforts. A joint working group led by the CBUAE and HKMA, with support from the relevant stakeholders of the two jurisdictions’ banking sectors, will be formed to take forward the agreed initiatives. Following the bilateral meeting, the two central banks, joined by senior executives from the UAE and Hong Kong banks, conducted a seminar on key opportunities to pursue between Hong Kong and the UAE. The seminar covered discussions on possible arrangements to facilitate better cross-border trade settlement, how UAE corporates can better utilize the Hong Kong financial infrastructure

  UAE Central Bank officials have called for a comprehensive regulatory framework for central digital currencies that would facilitate, accelerate and reduce the cost of cross border monetary operations. The call came during UAE's Central Bank participation at the fifth International Financial Architecture (IFA) Working Group meeting within the G20 Finance Track for 2022, which was held in a hybrid format on 22nd and 23rd September 2022. Thiscomes after The Innovation Hub of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, BIS (Bank of International Settlements) and the Central Bank of the UAE announced on twitter the completion of the first CBDC pilot involving real value transactions and four jurisdictions, using mBridge, custom developed DLT platform. As per the tweet, 20 banks participated in the final CBDC pilot, with over 160 transfers and FX exchanges carried out, totaling $171 million HK dollars ( $22 million)  in transfers and FX exchanges and $91 HK million in issuances equivalent