Relevance of Islamic finance highlighted

The Cambridge Islamic Banking Master Workshop at Sargodha University (SU) has highlighted the relevance of Islamic finance in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through impact financing.

A day-long workshop was organized by Noon Business School (NBS) here on Wednesday to increase awareness and generate interest about the potential of Islamic finance and impact investing instruments, particularly by addressing the long-term investment, needs of the Sustainable

Development Goals (SDGs).

Chairman Cambridge Group of Companies United Kingdom Dr Humayun Dar, office bearers of Chamber of Commerce Sargodha, faculty members and number of students attended the event.

Speakers suggested that specific workshops and training programs should be designed for corporate customers, general public, scholars and government officials to create awareness of the products and services offered by Islamic banks.

There is desire among consumer to know more about Islamic banking and address some crucial questions," speakers added.

They vowed to help young entrepreneurs, provide education to rural women and promote the programlending business model and adopting Islamic approach to social progress founded on the need for balanced development, which covers both material and spiritual development.

Delivering keynote speech, Dr Humayun Dar said that Islamic banking can play a key role in address the major challenges facing the country like poverty, income equality, regional disparity and illiteracy.

He argued that Islamic banking can contribute heavily to solving poverty alleviation, affordable housing, micro finance, financial inclusion and educational outreach, he said.

Dr Dar said that Islamic Finance was one of the fastest growing sources of finance in the global financial industry. Global assets in Islamic finance are expected to reach US$3.5 trillion in 2021, he added.

Director Noon Business School Ghulam Bhatti stressed on increasing trade amongst Muslim countries to achieve the objectives of sustainable development, bring positive change and improve the life of common man.

He emphasized the need for focusing on trade in the nearby region and amongst Muslim countries by exploring the opportunities.