Bahrain, UN to host CIBAFI Forum on role of Islamic Finance in SDGs

The General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), in partnership with the United Nations Bahrain, is organising an Executive Knowledge - Sharing Forum on: “The Role of Islamic Finance in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: Opportunities and Challenges”.

The forum will take place from 4 to 5 December 2019 in Manama. The two-day forum is expected to gather senior executives of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) across various countries as well as UN officials from the MENA region. Regional series of this forum are also planned to be conducted in other various jurisdictions. It will present how to integrate global initiatives and best practices into the activities of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Commenting on the forum, Dr Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary-General of CIBAFI said CIBAFI is confident that Islamic banks will play an important role for the promotion of sustainability through significant involvement in activities that address social, economic and environmental challenges.

Belatik added: “CIBAFI is keen through its new Strategic Plan to conduct initiatives that will showcase the value proposition of Islamic finance and will help Islamic financial institutions identify and integrate global best practices on sustainability and climate change actions within their core business”.

The Resident Coordinator and Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Bahrain, Amin Al Sharkawi, said achieving the SDGs requires a strong infrastructure which is not possible with conventional banking alone. He explained that the goals and principles of Islamic finance are largely in line with the global sustainable development goals in ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring the common well-being of all.

“The adoption of practices to strengthen risk management, institutional control, Shari’ah, regulatory and regulatory controls, capacity building, etc., makes it a very important role in the financing and implementation of the SDGs, all of which is possible to take shape from the Kingdom of Bahrain, being one of the top Islamic Finance hubs in the world. “