SECP Establishes Islamic Finance Research and Development Centre in Partnership with AAOIFI

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) have joined hands to establish a Joint Research and Development Centre (JRDC) to foster growth in Islamic finance. In this regard, Mujtaba Ahmad Lodhi, Commissioner (SECP) signed an MoU with Sh. Ebrahim Bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chairman, AAOIFI Board of Trustees at the 8th AAOIFI-IsDB Conference held in the Kingdom of Bahrain recently. AAOIFI is a global standard-setting body for the development and issuance of standards for the Islamic finance industry. Lodhi was one of the panelists at the AAOFI conference and presented an in-depth talk on the role of Islamic finance in the diversification of economic activity. Key officials of the Central Bank of Bahrain, International Islamic Financial Markets and Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance also met with  Lodhi to discuss areas of mutual cooperation. JDRC, hosted by SECP, signifies a pivotal step towards advancing capacity building, advocacy, and policy formulation to foster growth in the Islamic financial services industry in Pakistan. Under the MOU, AAOIFI will also extend technical support to SECP for capacity-building, research and advocacy activities. SECP anticipates that partnering with global entities such as AAOIFI will ease the execution of the Federal Shariat Court’s decision and support the government’s commitment to eradicate Riba from the economy.