I believe this will culminate in Islamic finance leadership that is premised on ethics and professionalism. Islamic finance can then truly fulfil its key role in elevating the well-being of humankind, and not just for achieving halal profits. Towards Sustainability: The Role of Islamic Finance Islamic finance value propositions not only are consistent with universal and ethical values, but the economic aspirations are to elevate our overall well-being. Much of today’s discussion focus on as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Sustainable Responsible Investments (SRIs) that centre on impact-driven and value-added outcomes, in addition to being commercial2/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  oriented. On this note, Malaysia is at the forefront of innovation and thought leadership with the Value-Based Intermediation (VBI) initiative that aims to create positive and sustainable impact to the economy, community and environment, without compromising the financial returns to shareholders. Our VBI journey has hit several key milestones. To date, 12 Islamic banking institutions have pledged to integrate environmental and social considerations in their offerings, practices and cultures. In facilitating this new journey, Bank Negara Malaysia will continue to collaborate with the industry to create an enabling environment for smooth and orderly transition. These include the issuance of several guidance documents such as the VBI implementation guide, VBI Scorecard and Value-based Impact Assessment Framework (VBIAF). More recently, the Bank and the VBI community of practitioners (COP) have embarked on efforts to develop sectorspecific guides on value-based impact assessment alongside sectoral experts.

They will become genuine stations of information gathering about the economic and financial activity of the region, being preceded by further analyses and studies. This research work will serve not only to a more explicit monetary programming but also to the modernization of transmission elements of this policy from the higher authority to the lower authority and vice versa. I estimate that this initiative of the Bank of Albania to monitor the economic activity not only in the metropolis but also in other regions of the country would be of particular interest for all the interested groups. Further, I would like to add some other comments on the latest developments of the banking system, which I deem have created good premises for a real expansion of this business, an expansion that will positively impact on the performance of business activities. After completion of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, the Bank of Albania inaugurated some times ago the initiation of a very important project on the Automated Electronic Clearing House (AECH). The operation of this new system will considerably increase the payment speed for the customers, knowing that the lack of this element has maintained businesses far from banks. I take this opportunity to make businesses aware of the advantages of the operation of this system, as both systems together will help reach the international standards of ATM and AIPS (automatic and electronic payment equipments), per population number.