The IFSB and ISRA Renew MoU for research collaboration

20 Oct 2015, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and International Shari’ah Research Academy for Islamic Finance (ISRA) renewed an agreement to facilitate cooperation between the two organisations to provide relevant activities relating to research, development, training and education in Islamic finance.

The IFSB Secretary-General, Mr Jaseem Ahmed and ISRA Executive Director, Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of their institutions, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this evening.

This mutual co-operation aims to strengthen the efforts of the two institutions in promoting an exchange of information, undertaking research, development, training and education in the Islamic financial services industry. More specifically, the MoU identifies the following areas of cooperation between the IFSB and ISRA:

• To participate mutually in the relevant activities of each other relating to research, development, training and education.
• To explore avenues for developing or undertaking joint research and development in areas of utmost priority concerning Islamic financial services industry, and whenever appropriate, to jointly publish, promote or disseminate any works of research for use and reference by the IFSB and ISRA or other persons in promoting and developing Islamic financial services industry.
• To explore the possibility of the Parties supporting awareness programmes, which include conferences, seminars, workshops, roundtables, trainings or any other events organised by each other relating to Islamic financial services industry in either country, or anywhere in the world.

In operationalising this MoU, the IFSB and ISRA will be jointly organising an IFSB-ISRA Sharī`ah Roundtable on 5 November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme will be Financial Safety Nets: Striking a Balance between Sharī`ah Requirements and the Soundness of the Islamic Financial System.

The joint research initiatives, which have been key activities undertaken by the two organisations in a previous MoU signed in 2012, will continue to be a key feature of this collaboration.
More information on the IFSB-ISRA Sharī`ah Roundtable is available on both the IFSB and ISRA websites, www.ifsb.org and www.isra.my.