Ready to be taken to the next level, the burgeoning sector of Islamic finance is ready to take root in new regions through Turkey, Malaysia and Qatar. According to Yousuf Al-Jaida, CEO of the Qatar Financial Centre, Malaysia could act as a gateway for Islamic finance into Asia, with Turkey into Europe and Qatar the Middle East and Africa. He stressed that Malaysia was ready with its legal framework to facilitate the sector, while Qatar and Turkey need to step up and do more for the sector. Al-Jaida said these three countries could form a large platform to share experience, technology and knowledge. He is optimistic and sees a bright future, as Islamic finance is now growing at an even quicker pace than conventional finance.
Istanbul is hosting a two-day conference to discuss the economic inclusion of young refugees in their host communities. The conference is set to bring together more than 150 stakeholders from the MENA region, policymakers, international and national NGOs, private sector, academia, and entrepreneurs. Participants will discuss various methods for enhancing economic inclusion of refugees and host communities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The two-day program will be held in partnership between the Dutch International NGO Spark and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), with the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs as sponsors.
Turkey's first institute on Islamic economy and finance aims to conduct international academic studies in Istanbul. University president Erol Ozvar said the Marmara University Institute of Islamic Economics And Finance (MUISEF) will expand its studies with further academic research. MUISEF is the first of its kind in Turkey in terms of being an academic institute. Ozvar added that the instruction language will be in English and will provide training on Islamic economy and finance for graduate and doctoral students coming from different disciplines. The institute was established under a joint protocol with the Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency and serves the purpose of making Istanbul a "finance center".
The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) held its two-day Global Forum in Istanbul. The forum’s main theme was "The New Face of Financial Services: Disruptions, Opportunities and the New Normals". Secretary-general Abdelilah Belatik said that CIBAFI would stay relevant in the industry as the world changes. CIBAFI's mandate is to represent the Islamic financial services industry globally, defend and promote its role, and to also consolidate cooperation among its members. Mehmet Ali Akben, chairman of the Turkey's Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK), said that while globalization had made countries come closer together, it also brought along risks. He added that countries need international cooperation and CIBAFI is one of the best examples of having cooperation and partnership between the countries.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) launched a $500 million fund to strengthen science, technology and innovation in the Muslim World. The launch of the fund was made at the IDB's 43rd Annual Meeting in Tunis. The fund had been announced for the first time in Kazakhstan in September 2017, by the IDB President, Dr. Bandar Hajjar. He said 57 IDB member countries face challenges in development and many of them could not solve their problems on their own. He added that the IDB wants to be a catalyst so that people can lead the process of development. Dr. Hayat Sindi, chief scientific adviser to the IDB president, said the bank would like to give every scientist an opportunity to provide solutions to development challenges. She said the aim of the fund was to give a boost to creative minds.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) aims to improve women’s access to infrastructure that will offer economic opportunities through Islamic microfinance. IDB president Bandar Hajjar was speaking at the "Partnerships for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment" session at the 43rd annual IDB meeting in Tunis. He said the empowerment of women was at the core of the Bank’s development strategy. He announced that to achieve this, the bank would launch a new initiative called "SheCan". He also stressed the bank continued its regular operations to empower women in priority sectors, such as energy, education, transport, health and Islamic finance. Representatives of 57 member states, senior government officials and ministers of finance, economy, planning and international development are attending the five-day meeting in Tunis.
According to Abdelilah Belatik, secretary-general of the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), Turkey can play a leading role in Islamic finance. Belatik sees Turkey as a bridge between the Muslim world and the West. He said through Turkey's support Islamic finance was discussed among G20 countries, which was a milestone. Belatik added that Turkey had a key role to play in raising awareness about Islamic finance. CIBAFI expects the volume of the sector to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2020.
According to the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), Turkey should raise public awareness of Islamic finance to boost the sector's market share. CIBAFI's secretary general, Abdelilah Belatik, called Turkey's target of raising Islamic banks’ share to 20% by 2023 ambitious but achievable. The council’s annual gathering to discuss Islamic finance will be held in Turkey next April. Belatik said that countries like Turkey and Indonesia and regions such as Central Asia and Africa are important as they have a great growth potential in the Islamic finance sector. Belatik said they work with countries which lack the infrastructure and regulation for Islamic finance to show them its role in the economy. He also underlined Islamic finance's significance for financial stability.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) announced it had formed a $500-million fund for scientific research. President Bandar Hajjar said the fund would find solutions to economic adversity using scientific innovations. He was speaking at the 33rd Ministerial Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) in Istanbul. Hajjar added that the bank had received 100 million Saudi riyals ($26.6 million) as contribution. He also added that to address the issue of youth unemployment a five-year program has been launched to improve cooperation between universities, research centers, non-governmental organizations and government departments.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said people in Turkey paid some of the world's highest interest rates, something which had to change soon. He said the overnight interest rate reached 7,500 percent after Turkey’s economic crisis of 2001. The Turkish leader suggested adopting the gold standard to combat international pressures. Erdogan also said he had no words on the central bank's independence but said that as a politician he had a responsibility to the public who were being hurt by high rates. Turkey's Borsa Istanbul and the IDB signed a strategic cooperation agreement which aims to expand Islamic finance in Turkey and other IDB member countries. According to the agreement, the IDB will explore opportunities for its strategic stake acquisition from the country's exchange operator, Borsa Istanbul.