Global Islamic Economy Summit kicks off in Dubai

Wednesday 07 Oct 2015 - 11:53 Makkah mean time-24-12-1436

(Image from Aquila Style)

Dubai, (IINA) - Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Tuesday inaugurated the second edition of the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES) in Dubai.
Over 2000 policymakers, thinkers and business leaders gathered to take part in the two-day summit hosted by the Dubai Chamber, the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), and Thomson Reuters, Aquila Style news agency reported.
In efforts to continue facilitating the growth and development of the Islamic Economy, Sheikh Mohammad also officially inaugurated ‘Salaam Gateway,’ the first and only online platform for all Islamic economy-related industry intelligence, news, information, and data.
Insights and intelligence, in both Arabic and English, are provided by Islamic economy experts, analysts, and industry and thought leaders. The platform was designed by DIEDC and Thomson Reuters as a business-to-business tool for the increasingly Shariah-sensitive Muslim professional, providing a comprehensive knowledge resource on all sectors of the Islamic economy. It is also the repository of an extensive database of Islamic Economy companies from across the globe.
The Summit began with welcome remarks from Abdulla Al Awar, CEO of DIEDC, followed by a keynote address by the Governor of Central Bank of UAE Mubarak Rashid Al Mansoori, who highlighted that UAE is globally recognized for having one of the healthiest Islamic ecosystems, and attributed the success to the UAE’s banking industry and the central bank’s role in continually strengthening the regulatory framework to ensure alignment with the Basel Committee for Banking Supervision (BCBS) recommendations and international best practice.
Following on from the past edition of the Summit and last year’s roundtables, the Islamic Economy Awards (IEA), under the guidance of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Al Maktoum, took centre stage at the Summit. The awards, presented by Sheikh Mohammad, recognize initiatives and ideas pertaining to eight key categories that have served to enhance bilateral trade and investment relations between Islamic nations.
The winners of the awards were: Dubai International Financial Centre for Money & Finance; Chemical Company of Malaysia Berhad for Food & Health; Unity Productions Foundation for Media; Hajjnet for Hospitality & Tourism; Center for Zakat Management for Waqf & Endowments; Affinis Labs for SME Development; Amanie Advisors LLC for Islamic Economy Knowledge Infrastructure; and Gould for Islamic Arts. Additionally, the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ was presented to Iqbal Khan, founder and CEO of Fajr Capital, for outstanding contributions to the Islamic economy.
Chairman of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Majid Saif Al Ghurair, opened the awards ceremony with a keynote speech. He highlighted that the GIES reflects the emirate’s concerted efforts in turning Dubai into a global Capital of Islamic economy while providing an ideal platform for networking and exchange of experiences in encompassing a broader consumer base, standardization and identification of core challenges affecting the various segments of the Islamic economy.
Al Ghurair pointed out that the Islamic economy is a way of life experienced by over 1.6 billion Muslims around the world and its model cuts across all aspects of economic and social lifestyle of individuals and communities. This model has proved its excellence during the global financial crisis, making it a perfect choice for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Financial inclusion should be central to global Islamic finance, and more measures are needed to achieve that goal as the industry's size is set to grow to $3.25 trillion in five years, speakers at the Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015 said, Khaleej Time reported.
Despite its rapid growth, the Islamic finance industry is weak in the area of financial inclusion, an area that has gained importance as a policy objective both in traditional and Islamic finance, Prof Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim, CEO of the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation in Malaysia, said.
for his part, Hamad Buamim, president and CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, pointed out that Islamic finance, halal food and tourism are attractive investment sectors in the UAE.
SM/IINA

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