The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, represented by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), will host the 39th Plenary Meeting of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF) from November 16 to 21, 2024, in Riyadh.

The meeting will be chaired by the Republic of Yemen, and attended by senior officials and observers from the MENAFATF countries and regional and international organizations in Anti-Money laundering, combating terrorist financing and combating the financing of proliferation.

The participants will discuss key topics related to AML/CTF and combating proliferation financing, as well as the outcomes of the Financial Intelligence Units Forum (FIUF) and the Operational Experts Forum on Terrorist Financing (OFTF) as well as the Risk Committee.

On the sidelines of the MENAFATF meeting, a conference will be held on the latest developments in AML/CTF and combating proliferation financing to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of MENAFATF.

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The conference will be inaugurated by H.E. the Governor of the SAMA, Mr. Ayman M. Al-Sayari, and will include four main sessions. The first session will address the adoption of international standards by FATF and its regional counterpart. The second session will discuss lessons learned from the current round of mutual evaluations and provide an outlook for the upcoming round. The third session will focus on the application of FATF standards to virtual assets and emerging technologies, as well as showcase countries' experiences. The fourth session will explore best practices in asset tracking and recovery, and the activation of international cooperation mechanisms.

These meetings are part of the regional and international efforts led by MENAFATF in the Middle East and North Africa region, aimed at combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, as well as protecting the region from such crimes.