offer postgraduate qualifications in islamic finance as well as the chartered islamic finance professional ( cifp ) qualification. cifp is the world's first islamic professional qualification and it is accredited as a masters degree level equivalent. recently, inceif produced its first batch of 32 cifp graduates from nine countries, of which three are from indonesia. inceif has also entered into strategic partnership with universiti airlangga in surabaya and universiti indonesia in jakarta where the cifp programmes are now being taught. through these strategic alliances, the efforts would be directed to jointly produce high - calibre talent that have the combination of knowledge in shariah and finance. it is our hope that pt. bank muamalat indonesia would consider malaysia as a platform for securing foreign currency business ventures in the region and contribute to the development of islamic finance in malaysia. i am confident that the international islamic banking segment of islamic finance in both countries will continue to make significant strides, in particular to bring to the next level the development of an international money market platform that allows for greater participation from a wider international financial community offering product suites that are denominated in other currencies and structured in a manner that would meet a wider range of applications and purposes. on this note, i wish to congratulate pt. bank muamalat indonesia on the official launch of pt. bank muamalat indonesia of the malaysian branch to conduct foreign currency business as an international islamic bank under the mifc initiative. i also wish to congratulate the newly established first islamic investment bank ltd., licensed under the labuan offshore financial services authority.

zeti akhtar aziz : strengthening relations between indonesia and malaysia remarks by dr zeti akhtar aziz, governor of the central bank of malaysia, at the launch of pt. bank muamalat indonesia, the malaysian branch and first islamic investment bank ltd, kuala lumpur, 5 march 2009. * * * it is my pleasure to be here this morning on this occasion of the launch of the malaysian branch of pt. bank muamalat indonesia, and its subsidiary, first islamic investment bank ltd., established under the malaysia international islamic financial centre ( mifc ) initiative to operate foreign currency islamic financial business in malaysia. this is a significant development as it represents the first indonesian financial institution in the malaysian financial system. indeed, this occasion signifies a further step forward towards strengthening the bilateral, financial and economic relations between indonesia and malaysia. the settingup of these two institutions in kuala lumpur would contribute towards accelerating the financial linkages that will underpin the expanding trade and investment ties between indonesia and malaysia. as the largest islamic bank in indonesia, we will also have the opportunity to leverage on our respective strengths and expertise and to mutually reinforce the benefits to be gained from this development. potential of islamic finance amid slower economic growth in the region cumulatively, the total output of the asean economies amounts to usd1. 3 trillion while total trade of the asean region now amounts to usd1. 4 trillion. the growth of the asean economies is no longer only export driven but for several years now has been driven by a growing domestic economy. in this current environment, most asean economies have been adversely affected by the spill over effects of the global financial crisis. sharp declines in export earnings are being experienced. the economies of asean and greater asia, however, have the potential to strengthen further their domestic economies. indeed, in doing so this would contribute towards reducing further the global imbalances. in addition, being diverse economies we are also able to take advantage of the complementarities that exists in the region. this is reflected in the increased intra - regional trade and intra - regional investment flows. intra - regional trade as a ratio of total trade of the region has increased from 30 % in 1990 to 40 % in 2007. intra - regional investment flows now account for 12 % of the region's foreign direct investment. with a total population of 575 million, asean also has greater potential to increase its economic interface with the larger economies in greater asia. the current financial crisis is expected to accelerate the financial and economic