HRH Crown Prince stresses Bahrain’s commitment to the development of Islamic finance
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister today gave an address at the opening session of the World Islamic Economic Forum in London today, stressing Bahrain’s commitment to the development of the Islamic finance sector to meet growing global demand and to foster broader regional development.
In the speech, His Royal Highness welcomed the ninth gathering of the forum, which looks at economic development in the Islamic world, noting how such development thrives through greater interdependence among nations. He said: “Growth in one country brings growth to others. It is a virtuous cycle.” Looking at regional challenges, His Royal Highness highlighted the need to create employment and enhance opportunity for the next generation in the Middle East, which has one of the fastest growing populations in the world.
He said: “Undoubtedly, the world’s focus has been on political developments in the Middle East. But the driver, the catalyst and, ultimately, the solution to our region’s issues, lies as much in economic development, in enhanced opportunity, and in education. Through these there is the opportunity of delivering lasting, transformative change and prosperity across class, religion, sect, tribe and race.
” His Royal Highness then touched upon the work that has been undertaken in Bahrain to diversify its economy, invest in education and skills development and attract industries that can act as net multipliers in the economy. Highlighting how the private sector has a pivotal role in the growth and productivity in the economy, His Royal Highness argued that strong financial institutions and regulatory frameworks help facilitate broader investment in the economy from infrastructure to high-productivity sectors manufacturing to real estate.
With Islamic finance a major area of focus at the forum, His Royal Highness went on to look at Bahrain’s particular expertise this sector, noting both its significant growth and its potential. In doing so, His Royal Highness laid out several key requirements to strengthen the Islamic Finance industry and to secure future development.
Firstly, His Royal Highness called for moves to standardise the regulation of the industry, ensuring “a universality of application, to keep the industry attractive, reliable and trusted, and able to meet the ever-growing demand.” Secondly, His Royal Highness encouraged the development of new asset classes within Islamic Finance, covering private equity, infrastructure and liquidity products, while also calling for greater supply of existing products, such as sukuk.
Thirdly, to facilitate the growth of the industry, His Royal Highness called for existing organisations to be empowered to apply regulation and enshrine accepted standards. He said: “We have organisations, like AAOFI and others, capable of aiding the industry’s development by protecting its fundamental attribute – the ability to deploy capital for Muslim and non-Muslim investors in a Shariah-compliant fashion.
” His Royal Highness emphasised that it was key that, while ensuring the industry had the scalability to meet growing demand, that there was adequate protection of the “the spiritual and ethical mandate that gives it its fundamental acceptance among the consumer and maintains its integrity.” In concluding the speech, His Royal Highness stressed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s commitment, as host to the largest concentration of Islamic financial institutions in the world, to the industry’s growth and development.
He said: “Bahrain, as host to a number of organisations committed to the industry’s development, is absolutely committed to working with our fellow pioneer, Malaysia, as well as with emerging hubs, such as London, to aid Islamic Finance’s growth.” His Royal Highness summed up his address by highlighting how Islamic finance serves as one example of a wider effort that can contribute to economic development across the region. The 9th World Islamic Economic Forum is being held in London from 29th October to 31st October 2013, the first time it is has been held outside of the Muslim world.
