The fourth World Islamic Economic Forum will operate under the theme of ‘Islamic Countries: partners in global development’ and will be attended by the prime ministers of Kuwait, Bahrain, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia.
In the run up to the opening day of the forum, its chairman, Tun Musa Hitam, a former deputy prime minister of Malaysia said, “If the European Union could be established comprising of a diverse group of countries that had often times gone to war with each other, we can certainly see a creation of at least a semblance of cooperation in this side of the world. And this is of vital importance for the Muslim world if it is to survive in the global marketplace.”
The WIEF seeks to bring together government and business leaders as well as eminent thinkers to discuss ideas, brainstorm issues and develop solutions for the betterment of the world in general and the Muslim business community in particular. The WIEF Foundation was established in March 2006. It is an independent not-for-profit organisation that provides suitable platforms for the best minds to exchange ideas and opinions of concern to both government and business.
Hitam stressed that the upcoming conference in Kuwait was not a religious seminar and “the only reason why there is ‘Islamic’ in the forum’s name is simply because we need a focal point. And that focal point is the Muslim world.”
He said, “We are not focusing on the Muslim world as a religious entity or an ideological bloc. We are simply saying that the Muslim world is a lucrative investment and trade group that everyone can engage with. We are using the term from a strictly economic perspective. It simply means that we are packaging ourselves as one, and we want the world to engage us as one huge lucrative market worth more than a trillion dollars with 1.3 billion people.”
However, he emphasised that it could be a force for good, as, “We are here to help people from various cultures, come to terms with the common language of business. We staunchly believe that when people get together for business, they forget their religious and ideological differences because there is one compelling commonality that matters most before them, and that is the impetus to be peaceful and prosperous. That is what matters most.”