First Islamic Investment Bank to sponsor major International Conference on Islamic Economics and Finance

Organised under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, it will be held from 7th to 9th October, 2003 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Bahrain.

'It is indeed a great privilege for us to receive such strong support from a high ranking financial institution such as First Islamic. We are also equally thankful to their senior management and especially Mr. Atif A. Abdulmalik for agreeing to sponsor the event. We feel that First Islamic's sponsorship of this event emphasises the need to involve all sectors of the financial industry, and not just the academic, in developing a broader understanding of Islamic economics and finance. For Bahrain, in particular, this conference will underline the key role the country plays in being the region's premier financial centre and, as such, presents an ideal venue to host this conference,' said Dr. Nadhem Saleh, Chairman of Economics and Finance Department at the University of Bahrain and member of the ICIEF's Organising Committee.

The conference is expected to provide a unique forum for local, regional and international economists, bankers and financiers to understand, share and discuss the intricacies of Islamic finance and also to examine the dynamic nature of Islamic economies and the various problems that they face.

The Ministry of Finance and National Economy are the hosts and main sponsors of this conference, which will be jointly organised by the University of Bahrain, Islamic Research and Training Institute, Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and International Association for Islamic Economics, United Kingdom.