In response to the invitation of the Indonesian Minister of Finance to the Secretary General of the Academy to visit Jakarta to discuss ways and means of improving cooperation and communication between the Academy and Indonesian Islamic financial institutions, the Central Bank of Indonesia organized a consultative meeting with H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy, on Thursday 29 Shawal 1442, corresponding to 10 June 2021, at the headquarters of the Central Bank in the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta

At the beginning of the meeting, His Eminence Mr. Anwar Bashori, Director of the Islamic Economy Department at the Central Bank of Indonesia, and the Secretary General of the Indonesian Islamic Economy Association welcomed the Secretary General of the Academy and the accompanying delegation and thanked them for responding to the invitation of the Minister of Finance and the President of the Indonesian Islamic Economy Association. On his part, Her Excellency, the Finance Minister, sent her greetings and thanks to the Secretary General, as well as her apologies for not being able to attend this meeting, given her official meetings outside the capital.

His Excellency then expressed his aspiration to establish a lasting partnership between the Academy and the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Indonesia and the Indonesian Islamic Economy Association to advance Islamic economy and finance in Indonesia and to push forward Islamic financial institutions that have started to pave their strong way in a country with an estimated population of 300 million, of which Muslims constitute about 90% of the population. There is, therefore, an urgent need to strengthen the Islamic financial industry, develop the performance of its institutions and enable them to keep pace and participate in economic growth and social welfare. To achieve this, the Academy should provide intellectual and legal support by cooperating in the joint organization of conferences, seminars, and round tables on contemporary Islamic finance’s various themes and issues.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Academy thanked the Indonesian Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the Indonesian Islamic Economic Association members, welcoming their invitation and supporting their efforts in strengthening the Islamic financial industry in Indonesia. His Excellency praised the outstanding developments witnessed by the Islamic financial industry in Indonesia due to the unprecedented support of the Minister and the administrative staff working with him, including the members of the Association.

Aiming for further development and progress, His Excellency suggested to the Ministry and the Association that the Republic of Indonesia should take the initiative to consider Jakarta as the capital of Islamic social finance in the world, following the benchmark of other cities known today as the capital of Islamic finance and Awqaf, such as Manama, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai and Kuwait.

His Excellency concluded his speech by reiterating the Academy’s approval to participate in the activities of the Islamic Sharia Week, which the Indonesian Islamic Economics Association will organize in October this year. He stressed that this major event will be a special opportunity to announce that Jakarta will become the new capital of Islamic social finance.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Omar Zuhair Hafez, Special Advisor to the Secretary General, Mrs. Sarah Amjad Hussein, Director of Family and Women Affairs, and Mr. Khaled Al Ahmadi, Head of Staff Affairs at the Academy.