ISLAMIC DAVOS

-What substantial work has been done by the Foundation since it was founded in 2006? What is your aim and what countries do you cooperate with?

- The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Foundation has a clear objective of Building Bridges through Business by bringing the community together regardless of backgrounds and uplifting the quality of living for all members of society. A key area of focus is to explore the potential of the Muslim world and Islamic economies, and encouraging greater collaborations for businesses to seize the opportunities available. We want action and tangible outcomes from these forums, and this is reflected in numerous deals and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) signed at the sideline of our forum.

The Foundation was established in 2006 to institutionalize the WIEF following the 1st WIEF held in Kuala Lumpur in 2005. Our annual forum is the highlight of each year. Beyond that, the Foundation also organizes numerous programmes and workshops around the world to encourage entrepreneurship, education, youth leadership and female empowerment so as to equip different segments of society with skills to elevate their standard of living.

As part of our ongoing efforts to elevate standards of living around the world, the Foundation partners with numerous organizations to ensure sustainable and efficient initiatives to benefit more members of the community. Our long-term supporting organizations include the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Islamic Centre for Development and Trade (ICDT) and the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) in Turkey, amongst many others. 

Our international annual forum has successfully been held in seven countries in the past 10 years in a diverse range of venues. The WIEF brand is now recognized worldwide and has drawn interest from numerous countries keen to host the forum and its programmes including countries such as Japan, Korea, Bahrain, Malta and Spain.

Since inception, the Forum has witnessed the growth of close to five times in the number of delegates throughout the years, with more than 2,700 attending the 9th WIEF in London two years ago. 128 countries were represented at the 9th WIEF in London in 2013.

This year, the 11th WIEF themed Building Resilience for Equitable Growth will be held on 3-5 November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The forum is expected to be attended by more than 2,500 delegates, including leaders, government representatives, captains of industry, economists, entrepreneurs and representatives from the academia, NGOs and the media from around the world.

Invited guests who will be attending the global forum include Prime Minister of Malaysia and Patron of the WIEF Foundation Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, Chairman of the Presidency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dragan Covic, President of the Republic of Ghana John Dramani Mahama, Vice-President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla, President of the Islamic Development Bank Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani and others. I would like to stress that we will be glad to welcome the delegation of the Azerbaijani government led by First Deputy Prime Minister Yaqub Eyyubov.

The 11th WIEF aims to further its mission of facilitating economic development and collaboration between Muslim and non-Muslim economies. The forum returns to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, just as the region prepares for the regional integration opportunities that the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) promises.

Topic clusters which will be covered at the 11th WIEF include Islamic finance, halal industries, green technologies, education, sustainable living and development, women and youth development, and the Creative Arts.

-What are your recommendations on how to prevent a global economic crisis?

- Securing financial stability and generating growth is at the top of the global economic agenda, especially after years of uncertainty and sluggish development following the 2008 financial crisis. More and more countries, Muslim and non-Muslim, are now seeking an economic model that is more equitable and sustainable.

Islamic banks, on average, showed stronger resilience during the global financial crisis compared to conventional banks, according to a study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), for example.

The concept of the Islamic economy is increasingly gaining global traction in the past few years. It has been proven to be more resilient, and it has presented to the world its vast potential to bring upon peace and prosperity with its underlying principle of being ethical and inclusive.

These are key topics which need to be addressed and the WIEF Foundation provides the platforms for world leaders, government representatives, economists, academia, and the business community to address these pressing economic and social issues. Our hope is that the Forum becomes the starting point and triggers greater collaboration amongst countries, industries and businesses to be the drivers of change.

- The World Economic Forum in Davos is one of the strongest platforms that gather businessmen and economic experts together. As you know, Azerbaijan plays an active role in this forum. Where do you see your role in gathering economic powers together? What is your perspective on Azerbaijan participating and being part of this forum?

- We are pleased to confirm that Mr Yaqub Eyyubov, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Republic will be joining us at the 11th WIEF this November in 2015, and we hope for the nation to continue to participate actively in this global annual forum. 

Azerbaijan's progress in expanding the economy beyond its oil sector has ensured that the nation continues to develop steadily despite market volatilities, with the government encouraging the development of other sectors such as construction, agriculture, forestry and fisheries. Such foresight puts the country in good stead for sustainable growth in the future and we hope that more global collaborations are forged with Azerbaijan's participation at the forum.

Renowned worldwide as a yearly gathering for world leaders and top CEOs, the WIEF also stands out for our focus on the key role Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) play in the world's economic and social progress. WIEF facilitates the coming together and networking of SME leaders from around the world to collaborate and tap otherwise unknown potential to pursue initiatives such as partnering to enter new markets and innovating new products.

This is especially valuable for Azerbaijan and we believe that the country's ongoing success will be depending on the growth of SMEs, which will play an even larger role in boosting productivity, introducing innovations and creating employment for the population.

- I'd like you to share your opinion with us about the latest situation in the Arab world. How has the political crisis in Arabic countries, as well as the situation in Syria and Iraq affected the work of the WIEF Foundation?

- As you can tell from our name, our focus at the WIEF is on pursuing economic opportunities presented by the Islamic economies and markets through collaborations around the world rather than focusing on political or religious matters. We believe the complexities of the political situation in the Arab world could be better addressed by other appropriate forums spearheaded by the relevant powers concerned.

We believe also that there is much to be done to help communities in need around the world and we are committed to this. At WIEF Foundation, our focus is on forging collaborations to boost economic and social progress so that these profits would eventually flow down to all members of society. This is the key area of focus for the 11th WIEF which we have themed Building Resilience for Equitable Growth. 

- There are some views that Western countries are interested in this chaos raised in the Islamic world. What is your opinion?

- We believe the way forward is to focus on the positive by promoting the development of the Islamic economy which should see the participation of both the Muslim world and Western countries. It is good to see that many are already actively pursuing these. 

Our continuous task at the WIEF is to turn it into an effective platform to facilitate collaborations between the Muslim and the non-Muslim world so that the potentials that exist could be fully realized.

The global Islamic market reached a combined value of consumer spending and financial assets of close to 4 trillion US dollars in 2013. Of this, approximately half stems from industries such as halal food, travel, media, recreation, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

Worldwide, Muslim consumers contributed 107bn US dollars to the global digital economy of approximately 2 trillion US dollars in 2014, and their spending is forecasted to grow faster than the rest of the digital economy by 2020.

Islamic finance is expected to almost double and reach 3.25 trillion US dollars by 2020, with growth currently led by banking and Takaful (Islamic insurance) assets.