ADGM’s FSRA hosts first ever Regulators Summit during ADFW

During Abu Dhabi Finance Week, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), hosted on November 15th the first in-person ADGM EU-MENA Regulators Summit, bringing together representatives from the MENA region, the European Union, and the USA. The closed session allowed regulators to discuss two of the themes that dominate Abu Dhabi Finance Week: the international agenda on sustainable finance and the regulation of digital assets.

The overarching objective of the event was to strengthen partnership and increase cooperation on the regulation of financial services with the countries across the MENA region and the European Union. Collaboration at a global level contributes to support consistent international standards and to address regulatory gaps across jurisdictions that can lead to harm financial markets and investors.

The first session which focused more specifically on new technologies and digitalisation, confirmed that cooperation and partnerships are paramount. The emergence of digital assets, in their multitude of use cases from payments to investment, can generate significant efficiencies and value but also confronts regulators with shared new risks and challenges.

The second session on sustainable finance at the time of the COP27 Summit showed that financial regulators have a strategic role to play in providing internationally consistent regulatory frameworks, particularly on disclosure and taxonomy, facilitating the transition required to meet the 2050 Net Zero targets. It was also discussed how regulators can support the journey to reach these targets, while potentially adopting different transition paths reflecting the specificities of the respective economies.