On March 22, 2006, the US MENA Private Sector Dialogue (PSD)   was officially launched in Cairo, following round table discussions with a group of banks and concerned regulators from the US and MENA region.

 This initiative comprises representatives from the MENA Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which is dedicated to implement the FATF 40+9 Recommendations on Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing across the Middle East/North Africa region; the Union of Arab Banks (UAB), which has a membership of over 300 Arab financial institutions; the Arab Bankers Association of North America (ABANA), a private sector association comprised of members from the financial services industry in the Middle East and the United States; The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade (BAFT), an association serving as a forum for discussions and analysis among international financial professionals. The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve participate in the US MENA PSD on a consultative and facilitative basis. 

  Chaired by Dr. Muhammad Baasiri, the US MENA PSD will join efforts to forge a professional partnership between US and MENA financial sectors to fight (or combat) money laundering and terrorist financing through awareness raising, enhancing communication channels, and bridging cultural differences. For this purpose, the PSD aims to bolster ongoing efforts to develop controls to detect and disrupt terrorist financing and money laundering and foster private sector information exchange between the regions.