YAPEIM Forum Aims To Discuss Strategies To Advance Islamic Economy In Southeast Asia

PUTRAJAYA, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Islamic Economic Development Foundation (YAPEIM) will organise a two-day YAPEIM Regional Forum 2024 (FSY2024) from Oct 1 to discuss new strategies and practical initiatives to advance Islamic economics and finance in the Southeast Asian region.

YaPEIM Board of Trustees member Prof Datuk Dr Saadiah Mohamad, also the FSY2024 Organising Committee chairman, said the forum, which highlights the theme 'Memperkasa Ekonomi MADANI Melalui Sinergi Rangkaian Serantau’ (Empowering MADANI Economy Through Regional Network Synergy), would bring together almost 60 local and foreign speakers and panellists.

She said the topics to be discussed include efforts to tackle hardcore poverty and inequality; Islamic finance, financial technology and high-value economics; digital economy; the halal industry; and Islamic tourism as well as the empowerment of Islamic institutions and agencies.

"FSY2024's objective is to gather practitioners and thinkers of Islamic economics and finance to identify current economic and financial challenges and needs as well as to plan effective approaches and strategies to help the government develop the economy of Muslims.

"We also want to empower the third sector to develop the ummah more efficiently and with good governance, in addition to tightening the chain and creating economic synergy between the ummah in the region,” she told a media conference on the organisation of the forum here today.

Saadiah also hopes that FSY2024 can empower Islamic economic development in Southeast Asia, especially as the region is enjoying political stability and encouraging economic growth.

"Our focus is not only on Malaysia but the whole of the Nusantara (archipelago) with hopes that we could leverage on this exciting moment (prosperity) and the confidence that the world has in our economy," she said.

She said that 80 per cent of the talks at the forum would be held in the Malay language as part of efforts to promote it as the lingua franca of the archipelago, although several sessions by foreign speakers would be conducted in English.

"This is aimed at ensuring a wider participation and facilitating the understanding among the participants from the archipelago,” she said.

Elaborating, Saadiah said the forum is expected to be attended by over 500 participants from the entire Islamic economic and financial ecosystem, including the infaq and wakaf sectors.

"We will focus on economic development and aspects which contribute to the real economy. As such, this forum also involves the infaq and social finance sectors, which are often not given much attention in major forums,” she said.

She said FSY2024 would be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who has also agreed to deliver the keynote address, and that the forum would be broadcast live on the YAPEIM TV YouTube channel and the YaPEIM official Facebook page.

-- BERNAMA