Saudi Arabia has met international standards and requirements on becoming a permanent FATF member and is committed to international and bilateral conventions. The Kingdom was invited in 2015 to become a member of FATF in recognition of the Kingdom’s international and regional status and in appreciation of its efforts. JEDDAH: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has discussed Saudi Arabia’s mutual evaluation report on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation during its joint meeting with the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), which concluded in Paris recently. The report was prepared by international experts from both FATF and MENAFATF. According to a FATF statement, the report is based on the FATF mutual evaluation process and includes the main findings, recommendations and advised measures on the above issues, as well as the Kingdom’s compliance with the technical standards of FATF’s recommendations. FATF is expected to release the report in September 2018 based on internal procedures. The mutual evaluation process is considered one of the most important procedures for obtaining permanent membership in FATF, and proceedings are continuing in this regard. The governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Standing Committee, Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, thanked all bodies concerned, including committees in Saudi Arabia, for their cooperation during all stages of the mutual evaluation. Saudi Arabia was invited in 2015 to become a member of FATF in recognition of the Kingdom’s international and regional status and in appreciation of its efforts. The Cabinet had approved the commencement of the procedures for joining FATF upon its request. The Kingdom has met international standards and requirements issued in this regard and is committed to international and bilateral conventions. Since June 2015, Saudi Arabia has been occupying an observer seat in FATF.