CSDI Senior Delegates Attend 26th ACG General Assembly Meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan

The 26th Annual General Assembly meeting of the Asia-Pacific Central Securities Depository (CSD) Group (ACG) convened 9-12 September 2024 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

This year, the AGM, hosted by Kazakhstan Central Securities Depository (KCSD), was a great opportunity to facilitate discussion within the newly-elected Executive Committee members to elect a new Chair and Vice-Chair.

Central Securities Depository of Iran was represented by Chief Executive Officer, Mohammad Baghestani and International Relations Director and Corporate Secretary, Siavash Azimi at this event.

This year, CSDI CEO, Mohammad Baghestani, was elected as ACG Vice chairman at ACG 26 and will serve as the board member of WFC (World Forum of CSDs). This accomplishment has highlighted the CSDI’s proactive involvement in international organizations and endeavor in elevating Iran’s international status.

Baghestani expressed gratitude for the support given to his nomination entitling him to stand as the ACG Vice-Chair and representative at Board of the World Forum of CSDs.

He said: "This is very important when our role on the ACG is to represent the interests of the members individually and collectively, but it is heartening to think that I have been honored to have this support. During my tenure, I will do my utmost to assist Mr. Chairman Badiuddin Akber from Central Depository Company of Pakistan (CDCPL) to make ACG a better platform for communication and strive for excellence.”

The ACG-26 brought together leaders and experts from financial institutions in Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region to discuss the development and strengthening of cooperation in financial markets.

Over the course of three days, participants discussed key issues such as digitization, the implementation of artificial intelligence, risk management, and improving service quality in the financial sector.

Siavash Azimi contributed to two Task Force breakout sessions i.e. the Investor Services Task Force convened by Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation (TDCC) and the New Buisiness Initiative Task Force by Korea Securities Depository (KSD) with two presentations introducing CSDI's electronic system to transfer Justice Shares of the deceased to the heirs, "Miras" as well as "collective payment system" named "SARV".

There are five major regional CSD association, including ACG, ACSDA, AECSD, AMEDA and ECSDA. ACG is the one with the most members among the five; it is also the most significant communication platform for CSDs in Asia Pacific.