key note address by ashraf mahmood wathra governor, state bank of pakistan world islamic finance forum ( wiff ) september 05, 2016 respectable senator muhammad ishaq dar, federal minister for finance, revenue, economic affairs, statistics, & privatization, justice ( r. ) muhammad taqi usmani, dr. ishrat hussain, chairman, dr. azmi omar, director general, islamic research & training institute, professor dr. abbas mirakhor, dr. farrukh iqbal, dean and director, center of excellence in islamic finance education - iba, distinguished guests, ladies & gentlemen assalam - o - alaikum it gives me immense pleasure to see global strategic players like international centre for education in islamic finance, the islamic research and training institute, international shari ’ ah research academy for islamic finance ( isra ) joining hands with the centre of excellence in islamic finance education, iba for organizing world islamic finance forum in the largest city of pakistan. this is a clear reflection of pakistan being a significant contributor towards the growth and development of islamic finance industry. i want to appreciate the page 1 of 6 organizers for providing this forum bringing together global thinkers and practitioners who can synthesize the work so far done and build on the core competencies of islamic finance for its sustainable growth. i wish all the best for the success of this global event and a very pleasant stay to the distinguished foreign delegates. ladies & gentlemen the ability of islamic finance to introduce greater discipline into the financial system owing to its inherent strengths indicates this system is relatively more stable and resilient. islamic banking is a growing reality which is expanding outside the traditional borders of muslim countries into western economies ; at present global islamic financial assets have reached us $ 1. 8 trillion in 2015 from us $ 150 billion in the 1990s and are expected to exceed us $ 6. 5 trillion by 2020. asia is expected to be the key driver in advancing the growth of the islamic finance industry ; according to islamic financial services board ’ s ( ifsb ) report, 2015, pakistan is among potential leaders of islamic finance. despite its impressive growth, islamic finance industry cannot be complacent as there still prevails huge untapped market. there are some challenges that the industry is facing in order to sustain its growth page 2 of 6 momentum. i would like to touch upon some of these challenges with respect to the theme of this event. enabling supervisory, regulatory and legal environment, a suitable accounting and

and banking sector liquidity has increased by rsd 16. 5 bn. the result is a better quality of living and the creation of preconditions for sustainable development. we use the opportunities that are presented to us, and more importantly, we create opportunities. we have transformed serbia into a stable economy with a good perspective. at the same time, serbia is making significant progress in terms of gender equality. allow me to illustrate this with an example. according to a world bank research “ women, business and law ”, in 2019 serbia shared the high 16th position with australia and iceland on a list of 188 countries. this is the best result in the region and a more favourable rating compared to many other eu members. another indicator of the important results in this remit is the movement in the gender equality index, which we started publishing in 2016 as the first non - eu country to do so. first, i believe that gender equality complements the achievements of our civilisation, as well as that it is an imperative for our future. second, gender equality is a factor of development which should not be merely spoken of, but to which we must make an active contribution. i believe that this is the case with the national bank of serbia. during 135 years of the bank ’ s history, it often happened that women made up the majority of the executive board members, whereby they had a key influence on strategic decision - making. chronologically, the inclusion of women in central bank governance is dominant in the 21st century. today women hold the positions of the governor and vice - governors of the national bank of serbia and constitute the majority in the executive board. this is why i feel entitled to say that gender equality is respected and implemented, but even more importantly, that there is equality and respect for each individual. 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches 1. know thyself 2. nothing in excess 3. make a pledge and mischief is neigh. the carvings at the entrance to apollo ’ s temple in delphi with these three maxims give us a key to successful living, if success is measured by how much we are satisfied with ourselves, as well as how much others are satisfied with us. these three maxims speak very vividly about the woman and her role in today ’ s society. what do we actually want as persons, what are our accomplishments, what are we prepared to sacrifice in order to achieve the chosen goal and is every sacrifice in the achievement of that goal really needed