trade be with countries in the union. but which options will we have as regards exchange rate policy when the monetary union has come into existence? theoretically the options are : 1 ) the current system ; 2 ) a floating exchange rate ; 3 ) a unilateral link with the euro ; 4 ) a bilateral link with the euro ; and 5 ) introducing the euro as legal tender in iceland. this list does not include membership of the monetary union, as that is only available to members of the european union. three factors need to be considered when weighing these options : first, the success they will produce in terms of low inflation and economic stability ; second, how likely are they to narrow interest rate differentials vis - a - vis abroad ; and, third, the flexibility they offer in case of external shocks, whether positive or negative. the current arrangement calls for the maintenance of a trade - weighted exchange rate index within 6 percent on either side of a central rate. the arrival of the euro will not prevent the continuation of this arrangement. the euro would be assigned a weight in the currency basket consistent with the monetary union members ’ share of iceland ’ s external trade. this approach will, however, not yield any progress towards narrowing interest rate differentials vis - a - vis those abroad beyond the growing credibility that economic stability will achieve on its own in due course. in addition, the experience of recent years, most recently from asia shows that it has become more difficult to maintain a stable exchange rate with the liberalization of capital movements and ever larger and more active international financial markets. a response to this would be to allow the exchange rate to float, but in order to maintain low inflation and achieve narrower interest differential vis - a - vis abroad this would call for the adoption of a direct inflation target with the central bank entrusted to pursue it. a unilateral link to the euro is hardly an option, as it would yield little in terms of greater credibility of stability and narrower interest differential vis - a - vis those abroad. in addition it has the drawback of not reflecting the composition of iceland ’ s external trade, at least for as long as the united kingdom remains outside the monetary union. a bilateral link would be better, as it would enhance credibility by virtue of the commitment of the european central bank to defend the link, and would result in narrower interest rate differentials. the exchange rate risk premium would not vanish entirely because the commitment of the european central bank would never be without limits and conditions

demand new expertise and skills. indeed, there will be an increase in demand for adequately qualified professionals. in this environment, the creation of a substantial pool of talent and expertise is thus indispensable for the future growth of islamic finance. strengthening research and development capabilities is also important for enhancing the capacity for innovation to meet the diverse requirements of the rapidly changing global economy. the establishment of the international centre for education in islamic finance thus comes from the recognition of this need to invest in human capital to advance the industry forward to greater heights. bank negara malaysia has allocated an endowment fund of rm500 million for this purpose. the income from the endowment fund will be utilised to finance the operations of inceif. the objective of inceif is to produce high - calibre practitioners and professionals in islamic finance as well as specialists and researchers in the disciplines of islamic finance. inceif will leverage on the wealth of experience of the islamic finance industry, both in malaysia and abroad, to provide its graduates with value added insights and perspectives, in particular for their research programmes. malaysia's experience in islamic finance for over more than two decades will also provide a training environment, including for internships for developing islamic finance professionals. the required skill set in islamic finance is unique. it needs to have the right blend of knowledge of finance with the understanding of the shariah as being central. the shariah principles must be embedded in every operational aspect of the islamic financial institution, including in the design of financial products and financing structures, financial contracts and their execution, liquidity and balance sheet management, risk management as well as asset and wealth management. the upholding of the shariah principles must permeate from the highest level, including at the broad and senior management levels. sound policies and practices premised on shariah principles will evolve the islamic financial system into a financial system that is distinctively ethical and that which promotes economic justice. in meeting this objective of providing a total talent management solution for the islamic financial services industry, inceif will offer the world's first certification on islamic finance, the certified islamic finance professional ( cifp ) programme. the cifp modules to be offered has been designed by renowned experts of their respective fields and have been developed in full consultation with local and international industry players in order to ensure their relevance to the requirements of the industry. following the launch of the inceif today, the programme will be open for registration. classes for the first