AUGUSTASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9CBUAE & PRESIGHT LAUNCH AI VENTURE TO POWER UAE'S FINANCIAL FUTUREINDONESIA & SINGAPORE BOOST DEFENSE TIES WITH EXPANDED JOINT EXERCISESNEWSROOMThe Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) and Presight, a top AI and big data analytics firm, have announced jointly a new venture to propel the UAE's Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme. The venture is a key step to strengthen the resilience and modernization of the country's financial system using artificial intelligence.The new entity will deal with providing sovereign, AI-driven platforms and services that help enhance key financial infrastructure. These range from the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) ecosystem, Instant Payments Platform (Aani), Domestic Card Scheme (Jaywan), National Card Switch, Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, to the Open Finance platform (Nebras).Ebrahim Obaid Al Zaabi, CBUAE's Assistant Governor for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability, highlighted the initiative's effect: "By building on the pioneering position of the CBUAE's Financial Infrastructure Transformation Programme and Presight's technology expertise, this project will enhance the UAE financial ecosystem and the country's national economic stability, further consolidating the country's position as an international financial hub."Thomas Pramotedham CEO of Presight's, emphasized the innovation and security focus: "By concentrating solely on AI fueled financial solutions, we are building a sovereign finance technology powerhouse that will revolutionize the way financial markets work, quicker, with applied intelligence, and safer than ever before."The joint venture is a milestone for the UAE's ambition to become a technologically advanced, globally competitive financial hub. NEWSROOMIndonesia and Singapore have committed to strengthening defense cooperation through more joint exercises in land, sea, air, and cyber forces to reinforce their regional stability efforts in the face of rising geopolitical tensions. The commitment was sealed in a meeting between Indonesia Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Vice Adm and Aaron Beng, Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), at the Indonesian Defense Ministry in Central Jakarta on Tuesday.The accord, negotiated on the side of the annual TNI-SAF dialogue, represents a major breakthrough in the bilateral defense cooperation. A Defense Ministry statement indicated that the expanded cooperation is "expected to enhance the two nations' defense capabilities and underpin regional security," while further military engagement will improve human resource capacity on both sides.Beng also visited the 26th Indonesia-Singapore Combined Annual Report Meeting (CARM-INDOSIN), in which strategic priorities, performance reports, and further cooperation in intelligence and interoperability were addressed. "This forum has reaffirmed our commitment to continue cooperating in forging regional stability, and also deepen the two nations' strategic understanding," Beng said in the high-level session.Cybersecurity was a major concern, with Jakarta moving to enhance its cyber defense strength in coordination with Singapore, which is a world leader in the sector. "We talked about cyber defense opportunities," confirmed Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ferdinand Wenas Inkiriwang."Such military interaction between the two nations will only have an increasing role to play in the future," the statement said, reiterating the nations' shared vision for peace and stability in Southeast Asia. · CBUAE and Presight have launched a sovereign AI venture to modernize the UAE's financial infrastructure under the FIT Programme· The new entity will enhance systems including CBDC, instant payments (Aani), national card (Jaywan), and RTGS· The initiative aims to strengthen financial resilience and cement the UAE's status as a global fintech hub· Indonesia and Singapore to expand joint military exercises across land, sea, air, and cyber domains· Cyber defense cooperation deepened, leveraging Singapore's expertise to strengthen regional cybersecurity· Defense accord aims to boost interoperability and strategic alignment for greater regional stability in Southeast Asia
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