MADINAH — Emir of Madinah Prince Salman bin Sultan inaugurated AlBaraka Symposium 44 at the female campus of Prince Mugrin bin Abdulaziz University in Madinah on Wednesday. An elite group of experts and specialists in the fields of economics, finance and investment from within the Kingdom and abroad are taking part in the 44th session of the symposium, under the theme of "The Maqasid of Shariah: The governing framework of Islamic economics," organized by AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy. In his opening speech, Sheikh Abdullah bin Saleh Kamel, chairman of the Board of Trustees of the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy, spoke about the AlBaraka Symposium and its history since its founding by the eminent Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel about 44 years ago. "The new session of the symposium comes in light of economic changes that require activating the Maqasid aspects and contributing to exploring a number of macroeconomic objectives of the Islamic economy derived from Islamic Shariah. This intersects with the objectives of contemporary economics represented in the concept of reconstruction, security, empowerment, balance, justice and sustainability," he said. Addressing the session, Dr. Saad Al-Shathri, advisor to the Royal Court and member of the Council of Senior Scholars, said that this forum is one of the seeds of this successful state under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. He lauded the efforts of the participating researchers with their thoughts, opinions and jurisprudential, economic and financial researches. Dr. Saad also highlighted continuous efforts in developing this symposium and its previous meetings, which had an impact on creating financial products that were a blessing for the Islamic economy. In his speech, President of Prince Mugrin bin Abdulaziz University Dr. Bandar Hajjar reviewed the highlights of the forum's work, which discusses three pivotal issues, including Islamic banks and the non-profit sector, the generation of young influential investors in the West and the commonalities with the Islamic economy and how to activate it, in addition to the global financial crises and dialogue in a vicious circle. Secretary of the Islamic Research Academy at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif Dr. Nazir Ayyad stressed in his speech that the Islamic law has all the ingredients that enable it to revive an ideal economic system that is compatible with the aspirations of individuals and the interests of society. A video, featuring the progress of the Al Baraka Symposium and its contribution to the development of the Islamic economic scene from both the jurisprudential and technical aspects, was screened on the occasion. It also highlighted the career of Saleh Kamel in supporting the field of Islamic economics. On the sidelines of the symposium, the Emir Prince Salman witnessed the signing ceremony of two bilateral memorandums of understanding between the AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy and the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration, and the Religious Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation. These aimed to contribute to implementing the objectives of the forum to achieve leadership in promoting Islamic economic thought and developing it in its comprehensive sense, and exchanging experience, knowledge, and creating a safe environment that attracts local and foreign investment. This is in addition to developing prospects for cooperation and organizing joint international and local events and conferences, besides exchanging experiences and publications, disseminating the Islamic economy and developing its applications. It is noteworthy that AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy is an independent, non-profit, global think tank, specialized in Islamic economy in its holistic sense
