By its very nature, Islamic finance can help alleviate suffering in the Mediterranean and particularly in North Africa, Malta Institute of Management president Reuben Buttigieg told last week’s Mediterranean Islamic Finance Conference.
This is the time to show that the values we preach come to reality in a region that is begging for such opportunity
The two-day conference organised by the MIM at the Westin Dragonara Resort in St Julian’s was themed “New openings”. It featured a varied programme of presentations and panel discussions on issues such as ICT in Islamic finance, alternative investment products, governance frameworks, microfinance, dispute resolution, and trusts and wealth planning.
Participants included local business people, representatives of professional service providers, local and international banks, among them Al Baraka Banking Group, the event’s main sponsor, Deutsche Bank and HSBC, and some of the world’s most respected Islamic finance leaders and scholars.
In his opening address, Mr Buttigieg stressed that Malta had a potential added role in the region. The island’s humanitarian efforts throughout the Libyan crisis could now be extended to support the provision of the necessary financing to North Africa in a Shariah-compliant manner.