Welcoming Speech

On Behalf of

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, HBMSU Chancellor

At the First China-UAE Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance

By

Fahad Al Saadi, HBMSU Vice Chancellor for Resources andInstitutional Capabilities

Mr. Chairman,

Honorable Delegates,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me start my talk by welcoming all of you to the First China-United Arab Emirates Conference on Islamic Banking and Finance.

I would like to thank the host and the co-organizers of this unprecedented conference: ZhiShang Inter-Culture Communication (Cross Time International Group), Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, and Dubai Center for Islamic Banking and Finance at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is our belief that this conference represents an opportunity to tap into two major endeavors made by the leadership of the United Arab Emirates. The first is the launch of the strategic plan for developing the Islamic economy sector. As you may know, it is the initiative launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. And the Second endeavor is the recent official visit to China by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

On a more specific note, we gather here today to help achieve many objectives that are significant for the development of Islamic banking and finance in both China and the United Arab Emirates. This first-of-its-kind conference comes at a time when major economic hubs worldwide have realized that traditional financial system should be revised, and that the ability of this system to achieve comprehensive sustainable economic growth should be questioned.

Organizing this conference also coincides with the rapid growth of Islamic finance and banking sector, following the negative consequences of the 2008 financial crisis that wreaked havoc with the entire global economy, not sparing even such financial corporations used to be called ‘too big to fail’.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our expectations for the first China-United Arab Emirates Conference are indeed high, with the promising keynote addresses and the outstanding discussion panels to take place during the two days of the conference. At Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University, we are keen to discover, explore, and analyze Perspectives, Challenges and Sustainable Impact of Islamic Banking & Finance worldwide.

Hailing from Dubai, the smart city too famous to be identified, and 

representing a university dubbed as the first smart university in the region, I can’t help but to express my eagerness and delight that our conference will touch upon smart approaches to Islamic banking and finance. I will be looking forward to such discussions and sessions related to smart models of Islamic finance. And I will be particularly interested in those deliberations on innovative ways through which digitally advanced banking experience can be realized.

In such context, I believe that together we can foster Islamic banking and finance not only in our two beloved countries, but also throughout the world. It is my hope that this conference will be a major landmark towards the goal of strengthening our partnership with Chinese organizations and institutions interested in the spread of the wisdom of Islamic banking and finance.

Finally, I would like to reiterate my deep appreciation to the host and 

the co-organizers of the conference for the most grateful welcome and extraordinary great work, wishing all the participants very successful and insightful deliberations.

Thank you for your kind attention.