Early this week, INCEIF held a half-day forum in Jakarta , Indonesia , in an effort to heighten the awareness on INCEIF and its programmes in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Themed “INCEIF and LPPI: Working Together Towards Developing the Islamic Financial Industry”, the Forum was jointly organised by INCEIF, Bank Indonesia (The Central Bank of Indonesia or BI) and Lembaga Pengembangan Perbankan Indonesia (Indonesian Banking Development Institute or LPPI).
LPPI supports BI in carrying out its mission to strengthen the Indonesian banking industry, particularly in the area of human resource development, through its research and training services for financial institutions in Indonesia .
More than 50 luminaries from the Islamic banking and finance industry as well as Islamic scholars in Jakarta attended the Forum.
The Forum, held at BI, was followed by the Memorandum of Understanding signing ceremony between INCEIF and LPPI.
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Tan Seri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz signed on behalf of INCEIF in her capacity as Chairman of INCEIF Board of Directors while the Governor of BI, Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah signed for LPPI in his capacity as the Chairman of the LPPI Board of Trustee.
The signing ceremony was held at the presidential palace, Istana Negara, and witnessed by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi and President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
In her speech at the Forum, Governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar said the signing of the MoU would pave the way for closer cooperation between INCEIF and LPPI in realising the common objective of developing a robust and resilient Islamic financial system.
“This sharing of experiences and expertise between Indonesia and Malaysia will enable us to work collaboratively to spearhead the development of Islamic finance in our respective countries,” she added.
Governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said BI was optimistic that LPPI and INCEIF would be able to carry out the task of nurturing professional Islamic bankers and financial analysts that meet international standards.
Echoing the aspiration of both Governors, Mr Agil Natt said based on the common goals of both BI and BNM to address human capital issues, the joint cooperation between LPPI and INCEIF was timely and opportune.
“Apart from the fundamental training of professionals, the building up of research and database that is so lacking, the cooperation will also see the exchange of research materials, scholars and academic resources. The possibilities are endless,” said Mr Agil.
