A new strategy will see Bahrain-based General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) strengthen its role as an advocate for the Islamic financial services industry with international standard-setting organisations and regulatory and supervisory authorities.

The council, which is a global umbrella of Islamic financial institutions, has initiated the ‘Strategic Plan for the period 2015-2018’ which was approved during its 26th board of directors meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

A statement said the meeting, which was chaired by Shaikh Saleh Kamel, saw the launch of the “comprehensive plan that is the result of rigorous data gathering, analysis, and stakeholders’ feedback”.

It aims to promote and grow the Islamic financial services industry, enhance co-operation and knowledge sharing between regional and international Islamic financial institutions, and foster economic growth.

The strategy also underscores CIBAFI’s role in providing relevant market research and high quality publications that seek to guide innovation in the financial sector, promote best practices, and highlight opportunities in emerging markets.

As well as creating and disseminating value added information, CIBAFI will enhance platforms that endeavour to increase industry awareness and share industry knowledge and focus on professional development initiatives that support the development of a diverse and well-qualified pool of talent; a prerequisite of further industry growth and innovation.

The meeting also saw the launch of CIBAFI–IDB Roundtable Proceedings Publication – Internationalisation Strategies for Islamic Financial Institutions, derived from the proceedings of the CIBAFI–IDB Roundtable Meeting held in February.

It summarises the key points made during the roundtable and identifies priorities and action items that will enable international financial institutions to fulfil their desire to deepen and widen their international operations.

The report synthesises the presentations and the discussions among participants at the roundtable and includes additional material subsequently submitted by the speakers.

CIBAFI secretary-general Abdelilah Belatik said members have also approved the establishment of the Members Consultative Group (MCG).

The MCG will be established from CIBAFI members to provide inputs on technical and policy issues.

The objective of the MCG is to consider issues and produce opinions on subjects of relevance to the Islamic and global financial industry.

The composition and qualification of the MCG members will reflect a diverse set of competencies which are representatives of various main fields within the Islamic finance industry, as well as in line with the value propositions of Islamic financial institutions.

In line with this, CIBAFI has also admitted four new members into CIBAFI membership from Kazakhstan, Djibouti, the UAE and Mauritania.

During the meeting, the members also praised the efforts of the secretariat of CIBAFI for the high levels of transparency and collaboration in the strategic process and voiced their confidence in its successful implementation. - TradeArabia News Service