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Seven prominent Bahraini economists will lecture at the three-day forum
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ISTANBUL,
September 21 (IslamOnline.net) – Seeking to be a Gulf commercial
hub, Bahrain will be participating dynamically in the International
Islamic Finance Forum (IIFF) scheduled for September 27-29, sending a
high-ranking delegation to the prestigious event, hosted by Turkey.
Led
by Sheikh Salman bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Director of the Bahrain
Monetary Agency, the Bahraini delegation is fielding seven out of a
total of 60 speakers at the economic forum.
Sheikh
Al-Khalifa will be addressing the Forum during a session on the
regulatory environment, international perceptions of Islamic finance,
transparency and disclosure.
The
kingdom will be capitalizing on remarkable growth rates and robust
economic projections culminated in the signing of the Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
“The
agreement, combined with Bahrain's leading position as the Islamic
finance hub of the region, provides growth potential in the US
market,” said Forum director Chris Mullinger, according to a press
release, a copy of which was sent to IOL.
The
volume of Bahrain-US trade surged to $1 billion in 2003 and is
expected to grow further following the agreement.
The
Forum, organised by IIR Middle East in association with Dow Jones
Indexes, is considered the benchmark event in Islamic finance and
brings together around 400 participants from more than 50 countries to
debate the latest issues and challenges ahead.
Sponsors
include Bahrain Financial Harbour, the National Commercial Bank, Saudi
Arabia, Oasis Global Management, South Africa and Ireland and HSBC
Amanah, which is the global Islamic financial services division of the
HSBC Group.
The
impact of recent high oil prices, the regulation of Islamic banks in
the West and the role of media are high on the forum’s agenda.
