His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), received His Excellency Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, Secretary General of the General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), on Wednesday, 22 Safar 1443H corresponding to September 29, 2021G, at his office in Jeddah.

His Excellency the Secretary General welcomed his honorable guest, thanking him for this important visit, expressing his thanks and appreciation to the General Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions. His Excellency also gave the honorable guest an overview of the Academy’s activities and the developments it has witnessed in the recent period, noting in this regard the status of the Academy globally in terms of being the first international Sharia reference that undertakes the issuing of sharia rulings in matters of concern to Muslims, whether those issues are social, economic, intellectual, or educational.

His Excellency then informed his guest about the Academy’s intention to hold a scientific symposium during the month of November on encrypted digital currencies in the hope of clarifying the sharia rulings related to them. His Excellency also briefed his guest on the project of establishing a higher coordination council for the institutions and organizations of infrastructure for the Islamic financial industry, coordinating strategies to meet the rising challenges of the industry, and converging fatwas and opinions issued by these institutions.

For his part, His Excellency the Secretary General of the Council expressed his great pleasure and deep thanks to the Secretary General of the Academy for the warm reception and good welcome, praising the appreciated efforts that the Academy has been making in order to support the economic and financial institutions and bodies in the member states of the organization and within Muslim societies, which contributes to advancing the wheel of development and motivates wealth production mechanisms.

His Excellency added that the Council, as a coordinating body that includes in its membership more than one hundred Islamic financial institutions distributed over more than thirty countries, is very interested in this project, which the Academy aspires to adopt in order to contribute to the support and development of the Islamic financial industry.

The meeting was attended by Ms. Sarah Amjad Hussein, Director of the Family Affairs Department at the Academy, Dr. Ismail Jibaji, Head of Research and Encyclopedias Division at the Academy’s Research Department, and Mr. Mourad TLiLi, Advisor to the Secretary General for Media Affairs and Public Relations at the Academy.