The 3rd Global Islamic Economy Summit began in Istanbul on Wednesday, gathering global policymakers, central bank governors, investors, financial institutions, academics and industry representatives.

The four-day summit, till June 6, organized by the AlBaraka Islamic Economy Forum under AlBaraka Summits Türkiye, will take place at Halkbank's headquarters at the Istanbul Financial Center.

This year’s event was organized under the theme “Capital in the Islamic Economy: Structuring Wealth for Sustainable Development,” focusing on ethical finance, sustainable development and the future of Islamic economics and finance.

Sessions are addressing AI, digital transformation, digital capital, financial innovation, Islamic fintech, sustainable liquidity ecosystems and youth entrepreneurship, and Anadolu is the global communications partner of the event.

A flagship session, “Digital Capital and Financial Innovation: Technology, Governance and Shariah Integrity,” will examine the use of artificial intelligence in Islamic finance operations, including credit assessment, risk monitoring, automated compliance and tokenization of Shariah-compliant assets.

The summit also hosts a special panel of central bank governors and ministers, moderated by Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN special envoy on financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

The panel will feature Fatih Karahan, the governor of Türkiye's Central Bank, Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour, governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, and Yahya Jawdat Hafez Shunnar, governor of the Palestine Monetary Authority.

Decision-makers shaping the future of the Islamic economy, international leaders, economic authorities, investors, financial institutions, academics and sector representatives will descend into the city between June 3-6 for the summit.

Held this year under the theme "Capital in Islamic Economics: Structuring Wealth for Sustainable Development," the summit will host important global discussions on ethical finance, the real economy, sustainable development and inclusive economic growth.

Significant gap

Junaid Wahedna, founder of the digital halal investment platform Wahed, noted that there is a significant gap in access to interest-free and ethical investment solutions.

Speaking at the opening panel of the event, titled “Capital Formation in the Digital Age: Concrete Realities,” Wahedna noted that using money to grant loans did not seem like a good idea from any perspective, which is why they initially launched Wahed as a very simple prototype website.

Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy on Financing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, said the world is going through some major turmoil because of wars, and lack of leadership to lead for the reforms.

"And that's why there is no wonder that in the latest reports coming from the UN system, telling us that growth is below potential, inflation is higher than anticipated," he told Anadolu.

Touching on existing problems related to the economy, he said: "We cannot solve the climate crisis by creating a debt crisis.

"So we need to invest, we need to mobilize public and private finance for mitigation for solar solutions, wind solutions, and renewable solutions."