Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI) signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to roll out areas of cooperation for the development of the Islamic financial services industry.

The MOU was signed by the Secretary Generals of AAOIFI and CIBAFI, Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari and Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, respectively at the AAOIFI head office. This MOU is directed at strengthening collaboration and fostering joint initiatives and activities in the areas of capacity building, awareness and advocacy programs, and joint industry publications. All aimed at addressing and enhancing understanding of emerging topics and issues in the industry.

This initiative also paves the way for a collaborative exchange of expertise and experience from both institutions. On this note, Mr. Omar Mustafa Ansari stated, “AAOIFI and CIBAFI have shared objectives of serving and developing the Islamic finance industry. AAOIFI is glad that this MOU provides a platform for strengthening the cooperation between the organizations in achieving our common goals”. Mr Ansari added, “The need of the hour in these challenging times for Islamic infrastructure organizations is to have active collaboration to ensure the objectives are achieved in an efficient and effective manner”.

Dr. Abdelilah Belatik, said: “One of CIBAFI’s strategic goal is to facilitate coordination between members and other institutions that support Islamic finance. In fulfillment therefore of this objective, we are pleased to formalize the cooperation with AAOIFI, one of our members, to share best practices and strengthen Shariah objective in financial transactions. We always aim to serve the industry better, and we believe that an excellent way to do this is to

establish productive relationships with other institutions of common interests. We at CIBAFI are looking forward to a fruitful working relationship with AAOIFI for the betterment of the industry”.