Guwahati: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of Indonesia (BI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen information exchange and cooperation in the area of central banking, including payment systems, digital innovation in payments services, and the regulatory and supervisory framework for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML-CFT).

The MoU will be signed on the margins of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting on July 16 in Bali, Indonesia, to promote mutual collaboration between the two central banks.

The MoU was signed in the presence of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and BI Governor Perry Warjiyo by RBI Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and BI Deputy Governor Dody Budi Waluyo.

The MoU will be executed through policy discourse, technical collaboration, information sharing, and collaborative effort.

The Memorandum of Understanding will also serve as a solid foundation for increasing mutual understanding, building efficient payment systems, and attaining cross-border payment connectivity. Such measures would be carried out through I regular interaction on recent economic and financial trends and issues; (ii) technical cooperation through training and joint seminars; and (iii) collaborative work to investigate the establishment of crossborder retail payment links.

"This MoU serves as a key milestone in the relationship between Bank Indonesia and the Reserve Bank of India," Governor Perry Warjiyo stated. We have been working together effectively for a long time, and this MoU will further strengthen our relationship in the future.

Going forward, I am certain that such a constructive collaboration would benefit both central banks and the people of both countries."

Governor Shaktikanta Das expressed gratitude for the kind Indonesian hospitality and praised the G20 FMCBG meeting's superb logistical and organisational arrangements. "Given our common aims and problems, it is only logical that we collaborate in many areas," he said.

This Memorandum of Understanding is an important step in formalising our collaborative activities." He also expressed the expectation that "in the future, the MoU would enable us to expand our contacts and facilitate our efforts to make our financial systems accessible, inclusive, and safe."