the innovative financing solution provided by the launch of the musyarakah bond. muis, which administers a number of waqf, has also made use of the proceeds to fund islamic education. non - muslims have benefited from waqf as proceeds have been used to purchase medicine for needy singaporeans, regardless of race and religion. the malay / muslim community in singapore, while holding fast to the values of islam also maintains an open and progressive attitude in the practice of its faith in our multi - racial and multi - religious society. the singaporean muslim's identity stresses the importance of contextualising one's beliefs to the environment, but without compromising the tenets of faith. the environment required to ensure the growth of waqf is similar to conventional charitable trusts. singapore has established itself as a strong centre for the administration of charities and trusts. we have introduced several initiatives to make singapore a more conducive jurisdiction for trusts, a vehicle commonly used for philanthropic purposes. this includes measures to modernise our trust laws, update our regulatory framework and make our tax regime more conducive for the establishment of trusts. this will help singapore to become a centre for the development of waqf. conclusion let me conclude. asia and the middle east are becoming more interdependent. with our destinies intertwined, it is critical for asia and the middle east to continue our efforts at engaging each other, strengthening our bonds and enhancing mutual understanding. to overcome the common challenges we face, we should continue sharing our experiences. i hope that this conference is the first of many in bringing together interested parties from all over the world to explore new and innovative ideas, and to learn from each other. barring unforeseen developments, i believe that asia and the middle east can overcome their challenges and prosper together in this century. certainly, we must all do what we can to make this an asia - middle east century. thank you.

managed. many countries in the middle east are keen to engage asia but i have been told that their businessmen are not so familiar with doing business in china and southeast asia. this is where singapore can play a role. as a key financial and commercial hub, singapore is well - positioned as a gateway for middle east companies to expand in asia. middle eastern investors can leverage on singapore's networks and knowledge to venture into asian markets. there is much that asia and the middle east can do together, as we embark on this journey of rediscovery. although there are significant differences between asia and the middle east, we also share common interests and common challenges. we both want to reconcile tradition with modernity and change, to develop without losing our core values. both asia and the middle east can profit by sharing experiences. this was the reason why singapore had initiated the asia - middle east dialogue ( amed ). amed would help to share developmental experience, promote greater understanding and serve as a bridge between the two regions. before stepping down as prime minister, i stepped up singapore's relations with the middle east, and continue to do so in my present capacity. in the past three years, i have visited almost all the middle eastern and the maghreb countries – egypt, algeria, jordan, the gulf states, iran, israel and the palestinian territories – to name a few. trade and investment between singapore and the middle east have shot up. to date, singapore companies have secured more than s $ 6 billion worth of projects. funds from the middle east managed in singapore have increased to around s $ 28 billion. but there is room for greater growth. i have started a second round of visits to the middle east, beginning with abu dhabi this year. i want to further strengthen singapore's relations with them. let me now turn to the theme of today's conference – integrating awqaf into the islamic financial sector. i have dealt at some length on relations between asia and the middle east because i wanted to put this conference in a larger context. the evolution of awqaf and islamic finance is in a sense about how muslims are adapting traditional concepts to modern living and how islamic finance is moving out of the middle east into the rest of the world. growth of islamic finance the growth of islamic finance as an ethical means of investing wealth arose because muslims wanted to invest their monies to get good returns, but in accordance with islamic principles. while the proportion of islamic banking assets as