programmes to facilitate their understanding of the specificities of islamic finance and its value propositions. raising standards of training and education programmes the education and training programmes in islamic finance also needs to achieve the highest quality, be credible and globally recognised. the qualifications developed need to fulfill the expectations of the industry. to ensure the standards, the required infrastructure for standard setting and accreditation for islamic finance training and education has now been put in place. the asian institute of finance ( aif ) is ready to provide accreditation to training programmes offered by training institutes following a rigorous assessment under the new assessment and accreditation framework and to ensure the highest standard of the trainings offered. the association for chartered islamic finance professionals, a body entrusted to raise the quality standards and professionalism of islamic finance practitioners, would also contribute to achieve this objective. this will centralise the setting of standards in islamic finance and provide the assessments to ensure that the standards are being met. partnerships and collaboration between the industry and academia there needs to be greater partnerships and collaboration between the industry and academia to align training and development with the requirements of the industry. greater bis central bankers ’ speeches involvement by the financial institutions is needed in designing the academic and training curriculum, and providing real business exposure and training through internship and sharing of experiences. industry - universities partnership can also take the form of “ summer school ” programmes that emphasise on practical aspects of islamic finance via business operation simulations. this move would provide value - added practical knowledge and hands - on experience to improve the technical competency of the graduates. more structured continuous learning programmes are also needed for practitioners to sustain their professional competencies. for top executives, the iclif leadership and governance centre offers programs that aim to develop future business leaders for the financial industry. focus on applied research research is also an important investment for long - term competitiveness of the industry and is a key driver for greater innovation. research institutions together with the industry must continuously strive towards introducing innovative solutions which will add vibrancy and diversity to the market. joint research initiatives should extend beyond geographical boundaries, with cross - border initiatives and convergence of ideas. research by academic faculties and research agencies can also contribute to the knowledge repository of islamic finance. in addition to research that have been issued by universities in malaysia, the international shariah research academy ( isra ) has been established as a dedicated international agency for applied research in islamic finance. further in - depth research on contemporary shariah issues relating to risk mitigation, liquidity management and

consumer education and protection measures have been implemented, which would also be applicable broadly to branchless banking related issues. a specific department known as consumer and market conduct department was established in 2006 to spearhead the initiatives. these initiatives included financial education at schools and for the general public ; greater disclosure requirements about the features of financial products and the associated risks ; the financial mediation bureau to provide an avenue for redress ; the credit counselling and debt management agency to assist individuals in financial distress ; and a public service centre at the central bank and all its branches to provide information and advice. the market conduct regulations also give the regulator powers to oversee fees and charges to ensure the quantum is reasonable for the services provided. these measures are broad enough to provide consumer protection in relation to branchless banking in general terms. however, they may be less effective in addressing some of the unique aspects of branchless banking, such as disputes with non - bank agents located in remote or rural locations. perhaps this forum could consider some of these aspects. collaboration in terms of sharing best practices, standards and regulations would reduce the cost as well as expedite the development of more inclusive financial sectors. we need to be mindful of the fact that for effective collaboration to take place, we must have common goals to bind our work. in this case, that common goal is the development of more inclusive financial sectors, by making available a broad range of financial services to the poor and micro enterprise segments of society and the economy, as well as those living in remote areas. before i conclude, let me again stress that the development of more inclusive financial sectors is an important objective, and as policymakers we need to pursue this without compromising on the prudential standards that sustain confidence in the financial system. branchless banking has tremendous potential to increase the outreach of financial services provided the different players and regulators are able to work within common regulatory framework. and finally that we must adopt a collaborative stance in pursuing this important global agenda which can make a real difference for the millions of people that remain caught in poverty. on behalf of bank negara malaysia i would also like to thank our principal facilitators for the workshop from the consultative group to assist the poor, the subject matter experts from world bank, the representatives from maxis communications malaysia and global exchange of philippines, and the representative from group speciale mobile association who joins us from london. i also welcome the participation of the alliance for financial inclusion in this forum, and we look forward to