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Ammon News - Jordan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in to enhance cooperation in fighting corruption and strengthening its institutional capacity between the two countries.

The MoU was signed by Chairman of Jordan Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission (JIACC), Muhannad Hijazi, and President of the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority, Mazen Al-Kahmous, in the presence of the Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Nayef Al-Sudairi and a number of officials in the two countries.

Hijazi stressed the importance of the MoU aims to strengthen and develop mutual work mechanisms and cooperation in fighting corruption, in recognition the seriousness of problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies.

He reaffirmed that the two countries seek to enhance international cooperation to confront corruption, as referred to in Article 48 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which encouraged member state to consider concluding such MoUs.

He pointed out that the signing of this MoU coincided with the visit of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Jordan and his meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah, which is another testimony of the deep and long-standing relations between the two countries.

Al-Kahmous indicated that the two countries have always wanted to cooperate in all fields, and based on this came the signing of this MoU in the field of preventing and fighting corruption with Jordan and reaching an actual implementation of the working mechanisms between the two countries in this field.

The MoU indicates in its second article that areas of cooperation in this field include encouraging the exchange of research and studies on measures to prevent corruption, and information related to crimes of corruption in terms of detection, investigation, asset tracking and recovery in accordance with rules and regulations followed in both countries.

Areas of cooperation included exchanging information related to criminal methods and activities leading to corruption and ways to prevent them, holding training courses, seminars, conferences and working sessions, exchanging expertise and information related to technical cooperation programs in administrative control, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes of financial and administrative corruption, according to capabilities available to each party and when necessity.

The MoU underlined the necessity of exchanging visits between the two parties and providing assistance in areas of prevention and detection operations and any other area agreed upon by the two parties.

The MoU stipulates that the mechanism for its implementation will be by appointing each party a contact person to coordinate matters that arise from its implementation, and each party will inform the other in the event of changing any of its officials.