In conjunction with the 30th Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank in June this year, an initiative was taken to develop a ten-year Master Plan for the Islamic Financial Services Industry. The Master Plan for the global development of Islamic finance is now being finalised by the Committee established by the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Financial Services Board. The Plan will provide the strategic direction envisioned for the development of Islamic financial services, looking beyond the near term and taking a longer-term perspective into the needs and requirements of the future. Islamic financial institutions thus need to adopt a positive approach in re-inventing themselves to meet the emerging issues, challenges and opportunities. In the domestic Islamic financial sector, despite the achievements that have been achieved thus far, the need remains for the Islamic financial institutions to strive to further enhance their capacity and capability so that they will be on par with global Islamic players in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and financial soundness. As we enter into an increasingly challenging environment, the ability of the Islamic financial institutions to compete by creating innovative and differentiated products, and by adopting strategic positioning to increase unique and tangible value to their customers will be the key to determining performance and relevance. It is imperative that players in the Islamic financial industry reposition themselves to create a unique and sustainable competitive position in responding to the changing environment.

This dialogue will now be held annually to serve as a platform for cooperation among the Shariah scholars to promote greater understanding on emerging developments across the world in the area of Islamic finance. This is to promote a greater understanding on the approaches taken by different jurisdictions in their Shariah interpretations. To support the Shariah scholars' activities especially in the areas of research and capacity building, Bank Negara Malaysia has also allocated a RM200 million endowment fund to meet the financing requirements of the Shariah Scholars' Dialogue research activities and the provision of scholarships. It is hoped that this will contribute towards greater understanding in the process of harmonizing the international implementation of Shariah in Islamic finance. These initiatives have contributed to the success in the creation of a robust Islamic financial environment. It is further supported by the requisite financial infrastructure that includes the financial markets and that is reinforced further by a comprehensive regulatory, prudential, legal and accounting  1/2  framework. These elements have provided an enabling environment that increases the potential for Malaysia to evolve as an Islamic financial centre. These measures, however, need to be reinforced by efforts by the Islamic financial institutions to take on a more active role in promoting Islamic finance. Indeed, the rapid progress of Islamic banking over the last two decades would not have been possible without the pioneering efforts of the Islamic financial institutions in building up a successful and vibrant industry.