SFIS and SECO Discuss Prospects for Cooperation in the Financial Sector

On 24 June, a working meeting was held at the premises of the State Financial Intelligence Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic between Deputy Chairman of the SFIS, Mr. Bakytbek Alisherov, and a Programme Manager of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Ronald Gindrat

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on prospects for further cooperation and potential areas of technical assistance in the financial sector, including strengthening institutional capacity and enhancing interagency cooperation in the field of anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (AML/CFT/CPF).

Particular attention was paid to issues related to the preparation of the Kyrgyz Republic for the upcoming round of mutual evaluation in the AML/CFT sphere, prospects for coordinating initiatives in partnership with the World Bank, as well as emerging challenges associated with virtual assets.

Following the meeting, the parties reaffirmed their mutual interest in continuing cooperation in the AML/CFT area and agreed to launch a technical assistance project based on an interagency and coordinated approach. An agreement was also reached to continue exchanging proposals on possible priority areas of the project, taking into account the recommendations of the assessment mission.