can be addressed if all the relevant participants to the islamic financial sector - the industry, the regulators, the market participants and the academia are willing to forge their efforts together on a continuous basis to elevate the performance level of islamic finance. today, we are paving the way for closer collaboration between inceif and the institutions of higher learning in malaysia to realise our common objective of developing the pool of expertise in islamic finance. this collaborative move, would establish a network of mutual co - operation and collaboration that would strengthen the efforts between the institutions of higher learning in the areas of curriculum development, research, training, exchange of ideas and information, and resources in islamic finance. this partnership in connecting the knowledge communities in malaysia needs to be developed and maintained on a long - term basis. entering into strategic alliances with institutions of higher learning, islamic financial institutions and other organisations would create greater synergy, which may bring about new approaches, new technologies and new areas of specialization. collaborative efforts between inceif and institutions of higher learning in particular, would strengthen the ability to leverage on the respective institutions'expertise in research. the introduction of new research findings in islamic financial engineering could pave the way for increased innovation of new products. this would contribute towards broadening and deepening islamic financial markets and thus strengthen the overall development of the islamic financial industry. in addition, active collaboration between academic researchers and the practitioners will enable the practical application of research findings. one of the strategic steps that inceif has initiated is the forging into strategic alliances with the five takaful operators to collaborate in promoting and undertaking research, development, training and education in islamic finance. in the international arena, inceif has also established strategic alliances with the islamic research and training institute ( irti ) of the islamic development bank, lembaga pengembangan perbankan indonesia ( lppi ) of bank indonesia, national institute of banking and finance ( nibaf ) of state bank of pakistan and ceylinco sussex business school, sri lanka, among others. inceif is also in the midst of finalising its collaborative efforts with organisations in the united arab emirates, kuwait, bahrain and qatar. initiatives have also been taken to enhance the pool of talent is in the field of shariah. this has been done by awarding research grants and scholarships to deserving outstanding candidates. this initiative will be funded by the shariah endowment fund which was announced in august this year. the applications for the sharia

ranging from basic trade finance products to digitally enabled supply chain 1 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches finance. second, in sustainable finance. islamic finance can help bridge funding gaps estimated at usd1. 5 trillion annually until 2030, to achieve sustainable development goals in asian countries, equivalent to approximately 4 % of the region's gdp3. closer to home, our aspiration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 requires an estimated total funding of usd100 billion4. efforts in value - based intermediation ( vbi ) including implementation of the sector guides of vbi impact assessment framework can catalyse growth in sustainable finance. third, in widening the intermediation capacity of islamic finance, we can look at expanding the use of blended finance and accessing more diverse sources of funds. application of social finance instruments in banking and takaful, complemented by partnerships with community - based stakeholders can open up new opportunities and build greater resilience among underserved segments such as microentrepreneurs and smes. ladies and gentlemen, anchored by the financial sector blueprint 2022 - 2026 that envisions " finance for all, for sustainability and for transformation ", malaysia is refreshing our efforts to sharpen and strengthen our proposition and capabilities as an international gateway for islamic finance. our immediate focus is on asia and oic economies. this vision is underpinned by malaysia's ecosystem strengths in islamic finance and capabilities to provide innovative solutions that meet regional and global shariah - compliant finance needs. the malaysia international islamic financial centre ( mifc ) vision is not new. while the aspiration to be an international islamic financial hub remains much alive, there is a need to evolve in response to global business shifts. when we started out, the focus was on international business ; international banking and finance, sukuk origination, wealth, and fund management, retakaful and human capital development. much has been achieved in all these areas. today, the mifc aspiration is a confluence of four dimensions a€ “ sustaining this vibrant marketplace, tapping global opportunities, innovation - led solutions and anchoring upon expertise that can also serve regional and global needs. with this, we see malaysia as having a conducive ecosystem where players can pilot and scale new solutions in the region. much of the establishment work has been done. with the maturing islamic finance ecosystem, it became timely for the industry to take the lead on mifc. the islamic economy