BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 3
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC) and International Islamic Food Processing Association (IFPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in attracting Islamic Finance investment into agri-food projects in Kazakhstan, Trend reports citing the AIFC.
The memorandum was signed by Yernur Rysmagambetov, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of AIFC Authority, James Martin, Chief Investment Officer of the AIFC and Sheikh Bilal Khan, Director General and CEO of IFPA.
The MoU reaffirms the trust the parties have in developing a working partnership on Islamic Finance investments and defines the framework for future cooperation between the two entities. The agreement signifies and leverages each party's comparative advantage to support high-quality and sustainable development outcomes in agri-food projects in the Republic of Kazakhstan with investments related to the use of Islamic finance, investment funds, Shariah structuring, Sukuk listing and other Islamic investment instruments from the markets of the 57 Organization of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) countries.
The MoU provides for cooperation on joint investor roadshows, business matching-making, bespoke events and specialized training programs for all agri-food ecosystem players including investors, project companies and businesses as well as promoting both organizations through relevant forms of joint marketing activities, including press releases, mass media articles and interviews, social media postings and joint forums. The MoU also envisages the facilitation of the involvement of other AIFCA bodies and structural units for a comprehensive ‘one-stop shop’ offering to the wider market.
The purpose of AIFC is to create the leading international center of financial services. Objectives of AIFC include: assistance in attracting investments into the country's economy, creating an attractive environment for investing in financial services, developing the securities market of the Republic of Kazakhstan and ensuring its integration with international capital markets.
IFPA is established under the auspices of the OIC specialized institution of Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) as its subsidiary at the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). Its mandate is to enable and promote intra-OIC trade and investment between agri-food private-sector businesses across the entire ecosystem and food supply chain from gene to fork in the OIC/IOFS Member States.