Manama: The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), the global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, is organising the fourth Mediterranean Islamic Finance Forum in Barcelona, Spain.
The forum, themed “Islamic Finance: Focus on Strategies for Mediterranean and Africa”, will be held in association with the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona on November 23.
In response to the huge demand for development of Islamic Finance in the Mediterranean region, CIBAFI started its Maghreb (Mediterranean) Forum in Tunisia in 2011, Mauritania in 2012 and Spain 2015 to create awareness of Islamic finance and a Mediterranean Platform for discussion on issues and challenges of new markets.
“Islamic financial services industry has witnessed dynamic growth in the last decade,” said CIBAFI secretary general Abdelilah Belatik.
“The Islamic financial service industry is expected to reach $4 trillion by the end of 2020. This growth trend will continue with a boost of interest from non-traditional Islamic finance markets, being at the forefront of introducing and developing Islamic financial services in their markets,” Mr Belatik said.
“Ensuring financial stability in countries with Islamic banking being systematically important is yet another development milestone for the industry”.
With the growing interests and high-growth prospects for Islamic finance across both traditional and non-traditional markets in Europe, Africa, and Asia, the Mediterranean region in particular may take the opportunity to gain the momentum of this global trend,” he added.
The forum will explore the future of Islamic banking through innovation and strategic regional and international positioning and shed more light on strategies to empower women’s role in Islamic finance development.
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