Date: 04.12.2023
On November 29 in Bahrain, on the first day of the annual international conference on Islamic finance, held by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) together with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), a significant event took place for the Russian Islamic finance industry - a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between AAOIFI and RAEIF .
The MoU was signed by the Chairman of the AAOIFI Board of Trustees, Sheikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa al-Khalifa, and RAEIF expert Magomet Isaevich Yandiev. The parties plan to cooperate in the development of Islamic finance in Russia and the CIS, the participation of Russian-speaking experts in the public hearings of AAOIFI standards and other areas.
Several speakers from Russia took part in the conference. Moscow City Duma deputy Magomed Yandiev gave a key report on the topic of Islamic finance and investment in Russia, and Behnam Gurbanzade, head of partner banking at Sberbank PJSC, took part in a session dedicated to the development of Islamic fintech.
The signing of the Memorandum marks the formalization of long-standing relations between the organizations - the first visit of an expert delegation from Russia to the AAOIFI conference took place back in 2009. Over the past 14 years, RAEIF experts have repeatedly participated in AAOIFI events, including conferences and expert hearings on the preparation of draft standards for the organization. An important contribution of RAEIF was expert participation in the translation of AAOIFI Sharia standards into Russian (the first complete official publication took place in 2017, the second edition in 2022).
A number of experts from Russia have the international AAOIFI qualification. In particular, according to RAEIF, 13 experts from Russia have the qualification of a certified Shariah Advisor and Auditor (CSAA), of which ten experts work in the field of Islamic finance in Russian projects and organizations. Of the RAEIF members, six experts have the CSAA qualification and two have the CIPA (Certified Islamic Professional Accountant) qualification.