President Erdogan highlights Türkiye’s role in Islamic finance

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday underscored Türkiye’s pivotal role in both commercial and cultural realms, asserting that the nation is extending its influence into financial markets.

Addressing attendees at the AlBaraka Islamic Finance Summit held in Istanbul’s Lutfi Kirdar International Congress and Exhibition Center, Erdogan expressed gratitude for hosting such a prestigious event.

Erdogan appreciated the AlBaraka Islamic Economy Forum, the Presidency Investment Office, the Istanbul Financial Center, the Türkiye Wealth Fund, Ibn Haldun University, and the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum for organizing the summit.

President Erdogan stated that Türkiye hosts the AlBaraka Summit for the first time. Reflecting on the summit’s significance, Erdogan paid homage to the late Sheikh Salih Kamil, a visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist whose initiatives laid the groundwork for the Albaraka Summits.

‘A milestone for Türkiye’

With over 1500 participants from 75 countries, this year’s summit marks a milestone for Türkiye, reinforcing its burgeoning role in global Islamic finance.

Erdogan expressed optimism that discussions surrounding the summit’s theme, “global insights, fundamental structures, and needs of Islamic economy,” will propel growth in Islamic finance and participation sectors.

‘Türkiye bridge between East and West’

“Having historically served as a commercial and humanitarian bridge between East and West, Türkiye has begun to play the same role between financial markets,” Erdogan said in his speech.

Referring to the Istanbul Financial Center, which opened last year, Erdogan said: “International investors confirm Istanbul has great potential in Islamic finance. I believe the summit will help to explore service and product markets for the Islamic economy on a global scale.”

He also highlighted the extensive preparation undertaken for the summit, which included various panels covering historical perspectives, ethical principles, investment instruments, sustainable growth, and more. He commended participants for their anticipated valuable contributions.

‘Balance lost in the international system’

Erdogan said that the global system is gradually losing its function, “In recent years, our world has been going through a radical process. We can see this very clearly. Balance has been lost in the international system. Chaos has become the color of the world. We say that the global system should be redesigned with all its elements according to today’s realities.”

Erdogan emphasized that the global system has failed to respond to Israel’s 8-month-long atrocities and underlined that there is no mechanism in the world to put a stop to this.

“The institutions we have been told about for years have a great weakness. Currently, there is no institutional mechanism in the world to protect the oppressed, stop the oppressor and prevent oppression. As Türkiye, we have been drawing attention to this situation for a long time. With the war between Russia and Ukraine and the genocide in Gaza, this has become inevitable,” he added.

Erdogan anticipated the summit would deepen understanding of Islamic finance’s ethical standards and facilitate global market discovery for Islamic economy products and services.

He expressed confidence that the event would further elevate Istanbul’s stature as a regional financial hub on the global stage.

On the other hand, Yousef Hassan Khalawi, Secretary General of AlBaraka Forum, said that Türkiye has great potential in Islamic finance.

“We know and believe that there is demand for this field, but we need to develop more products that are suitable for people,” Khalawi added.