Another area important for Islamic finance is the investment in research and development (R&D). The promotion of international strategic alliances through smart partnerships can create greater synergy that will bring about new approaches, new technologies and new areas of specialization. Such collaborative efforts amongst Islamic financial institutions would strengthen the ability to leverage on the industry's expertise. The introduction of innovative Islamic financial products in a specific jurisdictions can be expanded to other jurisdictions, which in turn, will contribute to broaden and deepen Islamic financial markets and thus strengthen the overall development of the Islamic financial industry. In addition, collaboration between academic researchers and the practitioners will enable the practical application of such research findings. In the area of education and training in Islamic finance, there is now a critical shortage of talent in the Islamic financial industry. Collaboration between training institutions is vital to developing the pool of expertise in Islamic finance that subscribes to common standards. Establishing a network of mutual co-operation and collaboration would strengthen the efforts among the institutions of higher learning across regions in the areas of curriculum development, research, training, exchange of ideas and information, and resources in Islamic finance. Such partnerships in connecting the knowledge communities between regions would facilitate this process. In the area of Shariah, the progressive convergence of Shariah views and rulings, the mutual recognition of financial standards and products across jurisdictions would be major driver towards greater international financial integration.

An aspect in the contemporary global Islamic finance that is fundamental is the “principled centred” nature of Leadership in Islam, that involves "trust" (amanah), and with that comes "responsibility" (taklif) and "accountability" (mas'-u-li-yah 1 ). My remarks today will discuss the positive elements that Islamic finance brings to the global financial system, its prospects for enhancing international integration and the potential to strengthen the socio economic aspects of Islamic finance. Optimizing benefits of Islamic finance In evolving the international dimension of Islamic finance an important aspect is the optimization of the oasis of benefits and opportunities Islamic finance has the potential to provide. Islamic finance implicitly embraces strong core values and universally beneficial characters. The fundamental requirement of Islamic finance is that it is confines its activities to that which is supported by an underlying economic transaction thereby avoiding emphasis on speculative purposes. The Islamic principles require that the financial transaction be accompanied by genuine trade and business related transactions. This provides for a high level of disclosure and transparency. This thus prohibits the commoditisation of risks, which effectively leads to its proliferation through multiple layers of leveraging and disproportionate distribution. It reduces the potential for information gaps and for mispricing of risks and thus avoids the elements that could contribute to uncertainty and disruptive market conditions. The Islamic financial system derives its strength and stability from its faculty to uphold Shariah principles.