WIEF: Islamic Economy Has A Larger Role To Play

The rapidly growing power of the Islamic economy was on show last week in Dubai when more than 3,200 delegates to the 10th annual meeting of the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) looked into a huge range of practical steps to make the Islamic markets more liquid and transparent, as well as more interactive with the non-Muslim world. Financial authorities in Dubai are taking the lead in helping to define internationally accepted norms and regulations, which would greatly increase the Islamic economy’s liquidity and stability.

It was remarkable how many non-Muslims were at the meeting and willing to participate and discuss how to make it easy for Islamic finance instruments and institutions to work within the non-Muslim economies. For example, there was a lively discussion on how banks should be able to treat sukuks under the Basel III regulations and thus affect their liquidity and capital ratios. There were several statements from non-Muslim states like Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore that used Islamic instruments to raise finance for their own purposes.

Dubai has made being a capital for the Islamic economy an integral part of its overall vision of becoming a major global hub. The vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is to unlock the potential of the Islamic economy and help the region and the UAE by making Dubai pre-eminent in Islamic business and finance.

The WIEF also emphasised the Muslim values of understanding and tolerance and many speakers described how the growing Islamic economy has a significant part to play in alleviating some of the world’s major development problems in order to improve prosperity and stability for all of mankind. The annual meeting stressed the need to promote a more tolerant environment in which equitable partnerships and mutual growth can happen and the importance of business partnerships in building genuine global human relationships across cultures. It also highlighted the need to invest in natural and human resources development, so as to support nations integrating regionally and globally to promote economic growth across the world.

Originally published on http://gulfnews.com/