Tariq Bajwa: The importance of Islamic finance for Pakistan and the challenges ahead

Address by Mr Tariq Bajwa, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, at the Launching Ceremony of AAOIFI Shariah Standards - Urdu Version, Karachi, 12 December 2018.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

I feel honored to be here on this important occasion of launch of Urdu version of AAOIFI's Shariah Standards. We are all aware that national language is an important ingredient of any culture and most effective mode of communication in a country. With this in perspective, translation of global standards into our national language is an important milestone, as it would remove language barriers to understand Shariah Standards. I believe this Urdu version of the Shariah Standards will be instrumental in improving awareness about Islamic finance especially amongst the Shariah scholars, academia and practitioners of Islamic finance. The scholars and all other experts involved in this project deserve great appreciation for their commendable role.

As we are all aware, Islamic Finance Industry is relatively new to the Global Financial Landscape. Events like these are important not only for dissemination and awareness but also reinforce the emerging significance of fast growing Islamic Finance.