The Malaysian capital “Kuala Lumpur” has become one of the most important economic centers in the world. Not only because of the strength of the Malaysian economy that has made this small country one of the largest trading nations in the world. But also because of the global forums and conferences that are held in “Kuala Lumpur” from time to time. With the participation of Heads of States and Governments, international figures, the owners of the institutions, businessmen and academics.
Last week, “Kuala Lumpur” has witnessed, for three days – from November 3 to 5, the annual World Islamic Economic Forum themed ‘Building Resilience for Equitable Growth’. 4113 figures of 102 countries in the world participated in the Forum. It witnessed signing a number of trade and economic agreements.
This year Forum is attended by, The Hon. Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, H.E. Dragan Čović, Chairman of the Presidency of the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina, H.M. Sultan Dr. Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, State of Perak, Malaysia, First Deputy of the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Yaqub Aubov and the President of the Islamic Development Bank Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali. In addition to a number of ministers of finance and economy of 13 countries and representatives of a number of heads of states in the world.
The Forum was inaugurated by Chairman of the World Islamic Economic Forum, Tun Musa Hitam, a leading economic figure in the world. He adopted the idea of launching a global model of Islamic economics. He was able through this forum that was established
in 2004 and through arranging holding it annually in different countries to show the world the benefits of Islamic economy that makes it a more appropriate solution to the stability of the global economy. It has helped to integrate the Islamic economy with other economies. As in Britain, for example, where there are 22 banks that applying Islamic rules in the financial dealings.
Quick reading of history: Tun Musa Hitam shows that he held a number of important positions in Malaysia where he was Minister of Industry, Minister of Education, Minister for Internal Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister between 1981 and 1986. He also held a number of important international positions. Notably the President of the Parliamentary Association of Commonwealth countries. He was board member of the “UNESCO”. Between 1990 and 1991, he was the special envoy of Malaysia to the United Nations. He was the head of the Malaysian delegation to the United Nations Commission of Human Rights between 1993 and 1998. He was elected President of the fifty-second session of the Commission in 1995.
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In his speech at the opening session of the Forum, Tun Musa Hitam stressed that the world is now facing serious challenges and is leading a hard time. He said: We live now in a challenging time and we have to look in every corner of the world for better life opportunities for humanity.
He talked about the refugee crisis who armed conflicts forced them to flee their homes. He talked also about the energy crisis and the decline in economic growth rates and called for the need to think about how to resolve these crises. He said: We should use our minds in the search for solutions. Governments, great and small institutions and individuals should cooperate in order to improve the quality of human life.
He added: “We would like this forum to have a role in the advancement of the global economy. Let’s focus on the economy, trade and interests that bind us instead of focusing on the things that divide us as religion and borders.”
He pointed out that 90% of the size of the economy in many countries is based on the small and medium enterprises. He called for the need to provide support for these projects. He said: experts from all over the world are participating in the Forum to exchange ideas and experiences on financing methods, e-commerce, issues related to innovation, diversification in products, marketing strategies and everything related to the means of supporting and developing small and medium enterprises to be able to face global competition.
He said: “We firmly believe that global cooperation is indispensable for the success of small and medium enterprises which represents the “lifeline” for many countries. We also believe in the important role that women play in the economic advancement of human societies.”
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Then Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Mohammad Najib Tun Abdul Razak, gave his speech. He said: The World Islamic Economic Forum has now become a truly international event. A framework for governments and policy makers, businessmen and entrepreneurs to interact, to exchange experiences and to develop opportunities and cooperation in order to achieve the interests of the Islamic and non-Islamic peoples.
He praised the theme discussed by the Forum this year. It is “Building Resilience for Equitable Growth”. He said that the idea of “Resilience” fits the challenges facing the global economy currently where we need to protect ourselves from the vagaries and uncertainties of rapidly changing markets and currency fluctuations. He stressed that it is even more important than ever that we build economies and businesses with high resilience in order to maintain stability. The idea of “achieving equitable growth” forces us to address the issue of inequality in wealth distribution between countries or within a single country in order to maintain social stability and promote global peace and prosperity of peoples.
HE said: “Trade is always the backbone of economic progress. Since the era of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and over the years He lived in Medina, the Muslim community depended on trade to achieve economic welfare. In the era of the Caliphs, the “Silk Road” which stretched from China to Europe represented an extended link between the Islamic and non-Islamic peoples in trade, the exchange of knowledge and the mixing of cultures. Today, in Islamic countries, we have millions of small and medium-sized companies that deserve our support in order to be able to compete in global markets. The most important problem facing these companies is the problem of “lack of funding” particularly the companies existing in the Middle East and North Africa that do not get adequate support from financial institutions. There is a financing gap of up to 13 billion US dollars to finance small and medium enterprises in this area. I call to focus on this issue in this year’s forum discussions. Small and medium-sized companies in Malaysia constitute 36% of the size of GDP.”
This article was published at Al-Gomhouria Daily Newspaper on 9th November 2015.
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