By Lani Rose R Dizon I The Peninsula
Qatar will host the 14th World Islamic Economic Forum in October 2020, which is expected to be attended by the Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Malaysian Prime Minister, H E Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and over 2,500 participants including heads of governments and business leaders from 80 countries across the world, it was announced yesterday.
An agreement was signed between Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) and the World Islamic Economic Foundation (WIEF) to jointly organise the event from October 20-22, 2022 at the Sheraton Doha with the theme ‘Economic Resilience: Inclusive Growth’.
Nasser Al Muhannadi Director of Finance at the MoCI and Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Almohdzar, Managing Director of WIEF signed the agreement in the presence of Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of WIEF and former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, Secretary General of WIEF, and Ahmed Ahan, Director of International Cooperation at the MoCI.
“We are honoured to be the host for the 14th edition of WIEF 2020. The forum will offer a global platform for businessmen looking to strengthen global cooperation, which is crucial to advancing sustainable development.
The objective is in line with Qatar’s aspiration to play a key role in shaping the projected $3 trillion Islamic economy and propel Qatar’s position as one of the world’s capitals of Islamic economy,” Al Muhannadi said while addressing a press conference.
Hitam added: “The WIEF Foundation is pleased to hold the 14th WIEF in Doha. Qatar is fast emerging as the most attractive FDI destination among the GCC nations. Islamic economies present great opportunities for growth in terms of their enormous size and purchasing power. The forum is timely against the backdrop of a global landscape impacted by various challenges including global trade policies, tightening of global financial conditions, climate risks in economic decision making and technological disruption”.
“Over the years, more and more countries, especially those with large Muslim communities, are beginning to establish Islamic banking and finance. We’re receiving inquiries from countries like India and other African countries on how they can establish their own Islamic banking. There have also been a lot of discussions and efforts made towards standardising some of the Islamic banking practices towards getting more non-Muslim countries to adopt Islamic finance. Islamic economy is basically responsible banking, with important principles of cost and profit sharing, which is intended to be fairer that what is provided in conventional banking. We hope that the forum will be an opportunity for businessmen to conclude some deals. This could be one of the concrete and tangible outcomes of the event,” Razak added while talking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the event.
Other topics which will be discussed at the forum include global economic outlook, Islamic finance, sustainable mobility, education, technology & 5G, food tech, renewable energy, e-sports business, and developing young entrepreneurs.
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