WIEF Held in India for The First Time to Create Awareness - Chairman

By M. Saraswathi NEW DELHI, July 4 (Bernama) – The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) is having its International Advisory Panel (IAP) meeting for the first time in India to create awareness on the forum. Its chairman Musa Hitam said India's participation in WIEF's activities has been very minimal. "Hence, the IAP meeting is aimed at creating more awareness about the forum and attract more participation from India, especially the business fraternity,” he told Bernama on the sidelines of the meeting here on Wednesday. Participation in the WIEF would enable the business community here not only in terms of networking but also open up business opportunities, he said. “They can meet business people from as far as the United States, South East Asia, South Korea, Japan and China. So, it is a greater opportunity,” he said. Musa said India as a whole was ignorant of WIEF simply because they are not familiar. "More so with the name Islam. So, it is an opportunity to explain to them that we are normal people with interest in business and investment in the most legitimate way. "It is a misconception that Islamic finance and banking are only for Muslims. Similarly, the issue of Syariah compliance is also not fully understood and there is no standardisation. "However, work on the standardisation is well on progress," added the former Malaysian deputy prime minister. The WIEF IAP is the advisory body of the WIEF that provides strategic inputs and intellectual content for the annual global and regional WIEF and related initiatives. In line with the theme for the 8th WIEF "Changing Trends, New Opportunties”, the meeting will discuss noteworthy topics related to the forum and matters pertaining to the global economic outlook. -- BERNAMA