Wealth from the oil and gas reserves in Muslim countries should be instrumental in helping less fortunate Islamic countries to develop economically. This will be at the center of discussions at the seventh Islamic Economic Conference to be hosted by the King Abdul Aziz University (KAU) in Jeddah on April 1.

The three-day conference will examine the findings of numerous studies in Islamic economics to counter challenges posed by the modern world and help poor Muslim countries stabilize their economies with the surplus wealth of richer countries.

“The conference is significant in the sense that it would formulate a futuristic economic vision from an Islamic perspective. It also aims to share the findings of research into the Islamic economy,” said Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Bafel, vice-president for higher studies and scientific research at the KAU in Jeddah.

The conference will bring together economists, business leaders, entrepreneurs, thinkers and journalists, and will be a forum for Islamic economists, bankers and financiers to discuss the intricacies of Islamic finance and examine the dynamic nature of Islamic economies.

The first Islamic Economic Conference was hosted by KAU 30 years ago. Briefly outlining the reasons for the university to hold the conference for a second time, Bafel said the university was encouraged by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to take the message of Islamic culture to the world.

Bafel said that over the past few decades a lot of studies have taken place on ways to invest the wealth of several countries. “It is vital to examine why the vibrant principles of Islamic economics have not been implemented over the past few years and no viable method to invest the wealth of rich Muslim countries in poorer Muslim countries has not been evolved,” he said.

Participants will also discuss the development of natural resources in Muslim countries in light of the challenges and opportunities posed by globalization. The conference is also expected to provide a platform to explore opportunities in Muslim economies, including an excellent opportunity for networking.

“The conference would also help evolve strategies to create a better understanding of business opportunities in emerging markets and harness modern technologies to our mutual advantage. It is clear that the world around us is rapidly changing and that these changes will have profound implications for the future,” he said.

The information technology revolution, the lowering of trade barriers and the concept of creating a global market are also expected to help speed up the achievement of the conference’s goals. The conference would also examine achievements made by Islamic finance, Bafel said.

“We hope that we will find solutions and evolve mechanisms with the help of experts who have been invited to give lectures and conduct workshops,” Bafel said, adding that the conference has been held six times over the past 30 years in Pakistan, Malaysia, Britain, Bahrain, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.

“There were a number of obstacles that stood in the way of meetings in the past. The obstacles, apparently, led to the postponement of each meeting for a few years. Unfortunately, the repeated instances of postponement reflected negatively on the implementation of the recommendations of the conferences. However, the need to hold regular conferences has, lately, been felt and we hope that it would be convened annually now on,” Bafel said.

He added that the Organization of the Islamic Conference had shown great interest in the increased facilities for mutual investments and private sectors in Muslim countries. Bafel agreed with an observation by Arab News that several Muslim countries failed to exploit their resources for want of proper planning and mutual cooperation. In a recent meeting of the Islamic Development Bank, a Nigerian minister said his country exported best quality cotton to Europe at a cheap price while the European industrialists returned the finished products at a very high price. An Indonesian delegate said in the same meeting that it exported ships at cheap price to Europe and other countries. These incidents point to the need to take steps to utilize the resources of Muslim countries to develop Muslim countries.