Today, we are also taking the opportunity of this very auspicious occasion, with the grace of Allah, to lay the foundations for another initiative, the launch of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, INCEIF. The Islamic banking and financial services industry has experienced profound growth in this recent decade. This growth is expected to accelerate further global expansion in demand for Shariahcompliant financial products and services intensify. To sustain and support the future growth of the industry, an important prerequisite is the development of the talent and expertise that is needed to drive innovation and to raise the performance of the industry to greater heights. The establishment of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (INCEIF) represents an investment in human capital to support the global development of the Islamic financial services industry. Human intellectual capital plays a pivotal role in driving the performance and market competitiveness of the industry. Going forward, it will be the defining factor. The fast pace of innovation in global financial services in general and in the Islamic financial services sector in particular, will demand new expertise and skills. Indeed, there will be an increase in demand for adequately qualified professionals. In this environment, the creation of a substantial pool of talent and expertise is thus indispensable for the future growth of Islamic finance. Strengthening research and development capabilities is also important for enhancing the capacity for innovation to meet the diverse requirements of the rapidly changing global economy.

The establishment of the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance thus comes from the recognition of this need to invest in human capital to advance the industry forward to greater heights. Bank Negara Malaysia has allocated an endowment fund of RM500 million for this purpose. The income from the endowment fund will be utilised to finance the operations of INCEIF. The objective of INCEIF is to produce high-calibre practitioners and professionals in Islamic finance as well as specialists and researchers in the disciplines of Islamic finance. INCEIF will leverage on the wealth of experience of the Islamic finance industry, both in Malaysia and abroad, to provide its graduates with value added insights and perspectives, in particular for their research programmes. Malaysia's experience in Islamic finance for over more than two decades will also provide a training environment, including for internships for developing Islamic finance professionals. The required skill set in Islamic finance is unique. It needs to have the right blend of knowledge of finance with the understanding of the Shariah as being central. The Shariah principles must be embedded in every operational aspect of the Islamic financial institution, including in the design of financial products and financing structures, financial contracts and their execution, liquidity and balance sheet management, risk management as well as asset and wealth management. The upholding of the Shariah principles must permeate from the highest level, including at the broad and senior management levels.