over the last 20 years, the global population has more than doubled to reach 7. 5 billion. this has posed significant challenges for policy makers and governments to appropriately allocate capital and finite resources. every country including malaysia is experiencing ageing population growth and will be affected by demographic changes either today or in future years. declining share of working - age population and higher number of old - age dependents will strain the healthcare systems and place an upward pressure on costs of pension schemes. the design of financial protection has to evolve and, for many underserved segments, financial protection has become even more pressing. islamic finance and takaful should therefore embrace its transformative role, responding to these evolving needs, rather than merely reacting to past and existing demand. it is thus imperative for takaful industry to be agile and adapt to these changes. in my remarks today, i will outline three dimensions that offer significant opportunities for the transformative role of takaful : first, takaful can be a key enabler for the muslim economy ; second, it can be a solution of choice for malaysians ; and third, it can also be a game - changer in empowering financial resilience. 1 / 5 bis central bankers'speeches takaful as a key enabler for the muslim economy for hundreds of years, merchants and traders have relied on arrangements based on mutual assistance to protect each other against the perils of sea travels, damage to property and other forms of misfortunes. marine protection schemes, similar to the schemes offered in edward lloyd ’ s coffee shop more than 330 years ago, can be traced back to the islamic civilisation of the ottoman empire. one could argue that such protection arrangements were part of the ecosystem that made such empires the marine superpowers of their times. fast forward to modern times, households and businesses continue to experience various risk events that could impact their lives, financial capabilities and assets. from nature - driven risks to man - made risks, these risks will directly impact those we protect and cover in increasingly significant ways. the muslim economy, in particular, is one of the fastest growing economies worldwide, driven by the exponential growth of muslim population demanding shariah - compliant products and services. globally, the muslim population itself is expected to grow twice as fast as the nonmuslim population. the global halal market is expected to reach usd9. 71 trillion by 2025 – more than 20 times the size of malaysia ’ s economy. the global

abdul rasheed ghaffour : connecting the dots - harnessing islamic finance to accelerate sustainable development goal achievements keynote address by mr abdul rasheed ghaffour, deputy governor of the central bank of malaysia ( bank negara malaysia ), at the united nations development programme ( undp ) islamic finance international conference, virtual, 24 feb 2022. * * * assalamualaikum w. b. t and a very good afternoon, ms usha rao - monari, un under - secretarygeneral and associate administrator of undp, datuk syed zaid albar, executive chairman securities commission malaysia, distinguished guests. let me express my gratitude to the united nations development programme ( undp ). firstly, for inviting me to deliver the keynote address today ; and secondly, for selecting malaysia as the host for the inaugural islamic finance thought leadership series. the theme c “ onnecting the dots : harnessing islamic finance to accelerate sdgs achievements ” is a topic close to our heart. it also resonates very well with the vision and development priorities of bank negara malaysia in the financial sector blueprint which we released just last month. “ in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity ”. these words by the renowned albert einstein are indeed very apt. the covid - 19 pandemic offers a proverbial “ reset button ” for nations to rebuild the economy and society with greater resilience and preparedness. this means leveraging this moment towards building pathways for long term sustainability and inclusive growth with the seventeen sdgs as our guiding compass. this need is even more pressing now with 2030 sdg targets looming over the horizon and a financing gap of usd 4. 5 trillion per annum1. i see islamic finance having a major role in plugging this gap. most, if not all of the seventeen sdgs are aligned with the objectives of shariah ( m aqasid shariah ), making islamic finance naturally advance and spearhead sustainability goals. this is the case in malaysia, where sustainability objectives are materialised through the adoption of value - based intermediation or vbi practices. for a few years now, islamic financial institutions have contributed significantly in pursuing sustainability efforts domestically. we also see many islamic financial institutions helming sustainability efforts in their respective financial groups, both domestic and foreign. collectively, the islamic financial institutions in malaysia have intermediated over rm155. 6 billion2 in vbi - aligned initiatives over the