Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) has signed a strategic MoU with the International Center of Islamic Economy to jointly develop and promote products and services of the Islamic economy.

The MoU aims to strengthen their mutual cooperation and make valuable contributions in support of the initiative launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai a capital of the global Islamic economy, said Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, the director general of Dafza, after signing the agreement with Dr Abdulrahman Bin Saleh Al Atram, the president of the International Center of Islamic Economy FZE and secretary general of the International Islamic Foundation for Economics & Finance.

The new partnership is of strategic importance as it primarily focuses on choosing Dubai, and Dafza in particular, to be the headquarters of the International Center of Islamic Economy.

The move aims to increase joint efforts to develop and promote products and services of the Islamic economy and to help in the development of the international Islamic economy, stated Al Zarooni.

"It is also intended to increase the contribution of the Islamic economy to Dubai’s overall GDP and reflect the ambitious objectives of the ‘Dubai The Capital of Islamic Economy’ initiative. Through the cooperative agreement Dafza hopes to attract businesses that operate in adherence to Shariah principles," he added.

Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni said: "The new partnership confirms our eagerness to enhance the achievements made by Dubai to become a global leader in the Islamic economy. Together we shall build solid ties with the public and private sectors to ensure that the necessary means to deliver Islamic financial, commodity and service products with the highest standards of excellence and quality are provided."

"We are committed to effectively developing sectors under the Islamic economy and attract foreign investment within Dafza which is now one of the most developed free zones in the world," he added.

Al Atram lauded Dafza’s contribution to promoting the local economy by creating a favourable environment for business and an attractive destination for international and regional investors.

He emphasized the importance of the new strategic partnership in supporting Dubai's transformation into the capital of the global Islamic economy by focusing on developing product and services compatible with the provisions of Islamic Shariah.

"We have a very optimistic and confident outlook for our cooperation, especially as we will manage our activities from Dafza which will provide us with the necessary means to embody our vision of achieving leadership in providing support and consultancy services to develop Islamic economics services globally,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service