The Jeddah-headquartered Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Kuala Lumpur-based Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) have signed a Technical Assistance (TA) Grant agreement for the final review of the ‘10-Year Framework and Strategy Project’ for the Islamic financial services industry. The TA is planned to be implemented up to 31 December 2021.
The TA funding will support consultancy services, consultative workshops, and the publication of the final report.
The main objective of the final review is to assess the progress and current status of the priorities and initiatives recommended in the ‘10-Year Framework (2007)’ and its ‘Mid-Term Review (2014)’ over the past 10 years, and also provide a roadmap for the Islamic financial services industry.
The scope of the project will cover: takaful, Islamic banking, Islamic capital market, and Islamic non-banking financial institutions and microfinance.
The final review will also provide a basis to developing new strategies and a framework for the Islamic financial industry in the future.
IsDB vice president, country programs Dr Mansur Muhtar said the Islamic finance industry has evolved enormously over time with great opportunities but also new challenges and issues. “The project is expected to guide the industry in its future trajectory and inform stakeholders of the critical actions needed on our part to ensure its sustainability and growth.”
IFSB secretary-general Dr Bello Lawal Danbatta added that “the recommendations from the final review will also be very useful to ensuring the soundness, stability, and resilience of the Islamic financial services industry especially due to the implications of COVID-19 and digital transformation of operations, supervision, and regulation”.
This assistance is the seventh TA from the IsDB to the IFSB since the IFSB started operations in 2003. Previous TAs were granted to the IFSB in 2004, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2019. The IsDB is a full and founding member of the IFSB, and sits on the IFSB Council. M