03 Jul, 2023
In collaboration with Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the World Bank Group, the Brunei Institute of Leadership and Islamic Finance (BILIF) successfully organized the Brunei Islamic Finance Summit 2023 during 12-14 June 2023. The IsDB Institute led the coordination with the BILIF and contributed to the main program of the Summit.
The theme of the Summit was “Securing a Resilient and Sustainable Future through Innovative Islamic Finance”. The event brought together world-renowned experts, leaders, and practitioners to discuss issues around Islamic finance, sustainability, food security, fintech, and neo-banks. It also included knowledge-sharing sessions on various case studies from Brunei and abroad.
The Summit was opened by Brunei’s Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Fiscal) Pengiran Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Zety Sufina binti Pengiran Dato Paduka Haji Sani who delivered a keynote address on behalf of the Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Finance and Economy II Dato Seri Setia Dr. Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah.
The IsDB was represented at the Summit by the Acting Director General, IsDB Institute, and Chief Economist, IsDB Group, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem, who made a keynote presentation during the opening session emphasizing the need for a paradigm change within the Islamic finance industry. He also participated in a panel discussion on “Tackling Food Security and Inflation”.
The Summit included a session on IsDB Institute’s flagship initiative on Awqaf Free Zones, including a presentation by Mr. Yahya Aleem ur Rehman, Team Leader, Knowledge Leaders, IsDB Institute. Mr. Rehman highlighted the background, salient features, and potential benefits of the initiative in addressing food and energy security challenges faced by the IsDB Member Countries.
The event also included other sessions from public and private sector experts and practitioners from Malaysia, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Australia, and Canada.
The CEO of BILIF, Yang Mulia Dyg Hajah Sufinah binti Haji Sahat, in her closing remarks, thanked the participants, experts, sponsors, and the IsDB Institute for its unwavering support to BILIF and for making the Summit a success.
The IsDBI team also held meetings with H.E. the Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy, Yang Mulia Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Khairuddin bin Haji Abdul Hamid and H.E. the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Haji Mohammad Rosli bin Haji Ibrahim and his team to discuss areas of future collaboration between the IsDB and Brunei.
The IsDB Institute also participated in the exhibition held on the sidelines of the Summit with a booth highlighting IsDB Institute’s various activities and publications.
