Arab Insurance Commissioners and Hawkamah launch regional corporate governance initiative for the insurance industry

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The Arab Forum of Insurance Regulatory Commissions (AFIRC) was established in September 2006. AFIRC aims to support cooperation between Arab Insurance Commissions, to exchange information, expertise, and joint programs to provide technical assistance and train the staff of these commissions and institutions, and finally to cooperate with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and other relevant international and regional organizations, in particular the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and its role in setting standards for insurance supervision.

The membership of the forum, chaired by Jordan, include 14 Arab Countries namely, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, in addition to Mauritania who recently applied to join the membership of the Forum.

Hawkamah, the Institute for Corporate Governance, constitutes a groundbreaking development for institution building, corporate sector reform, sound banking and financial sector development, good governance, sustainable economic development and growth in the region. Hawkamah's mission is to assist the countries and companies of the region to develop sound and globally well-integrated corporate governance frameworks. Hawkamah is an international association that aims to efficiently coordinate and sequence the designing, planning and implementation of corporate governance reforms and monitoring the outcome of corporate governance policies at the private sector level. Hawkamah is supported by international and regional organizations such as the International Finance Corporation, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Institute of Finance, Center for International Private Enterprise, Union of Arab Banks, Dubai International Financial Centre, among others.