KUALA LUMPUR, 5 November — Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, chairman of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) steering committee and governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, has announced the appointment of Dr. Rifaat Ahmed Abdel Karim as the first secretary-general of IFSB.
At press conference held here yesterday, Dr. Zeti said that the general assembly meeting of IFSB which was presided over by Dr. Syahril Sabirin, governor of Bank Indonesia, in the absence of Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Mohammad Al-Khalifa, governor of Bahrain Monetary Agency, on Sunday approved Dr. Rifaat’s term for three years.
Dr. Rifaat was also a member of the preparatory committee that drafted the agreement for establishing the IFSB.
Dr. Rifaat, currently the secretary-general of the Bahrain-based Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), said yesterday that he will assume his new position early next year. He also said he will quit his AAOIFI job to take over as IFSB secretary-general.
AAOIFI, established in 1991, is one of the most successful and independent organizations in the Islamic banking and finance industry. The World Bank too has recognized its achievements.
Dr. Rifaat said, with Islamic banking facing many challenges, there will be cooperation between Islamic banks and other international financial institutions. “We will be working with all Muslim and non-Muslim financial institutions to enhance cooperation and to set standards for Islamic banks.”
He added that we will also hold meetings with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to inform them about IFSB objectives in promoting Islamic banking.”
The founding members of IFSB, the global standard setting body for Islamic financial institutions, commenced operations Sunday.
