WIEF to Hold Investment Roundtable In Cordoba

KUALA LUMPUR: The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation, in collaboration with the Fundacion Agropolis de Cordoba, is organising an investment event focusing on Halal agriculture, food products and tourism in Cordoba, Spain next year.

WIEF Foundation executive director Fazil Irwan Som said the event, tentatively named “WIEF-Cordoba Investment Roundtable”, is basically a lead-up event to the 10th WIEF Forum in Dubai.

Speaking to Bernama in an interview here, Fazil said the event is scheduled to be held sometime in March or April 2015.

“We’re trying to attract potential investors and partners to Cordoba. We will have matchmaking programmes and try to get the companies in Spain to have dialogues with partners from outside Spain,” he said.

Fazil said the event is part of the framework established following the WIEF 2013 in London where his team first met with director general for Fundacion Agropolis de Cordoba Antonio Fernandez Ranchal and Cordoba government representatives.

“We think it’s interesting to have a programme in Cordoba. WIEF London literally opened the gates for the non-Muslim world to engage with the Muslim world through business, and it ties in very well with us. Our tagline is ‘Building bridges through business’”, Fazil said.

He said WIEF Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam visited Spain early this year to analyse the potential of the Halal market and investment opportunities in the country, and also spent several days meeting with entrepreneurs as well as representatives from the government and universities.

“This is a good, positive development. We also see more and more non-Muslim countries interested to come in such as Japan and Korea, especially with regards to Islamic finance and Halal industry.

“Perhaps the event in Cordoba would be the stepping stone for other interested countries as well,” he said.

Originally published on my.news.yahoo.com