ABIDJAN — The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private sector (ICD), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB), and the Regional Council for Public Savings and Financial Markets (CREPMF), regional financial market regulatory body of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) zone, signed a partnership and cooperation agreement to promote Islamic finance in the WAEMU sub-region. The goal is to help mobilize long-term resources of the union member states and private sector companies, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The agreement covers the cooperation, the exchange of information, the development of the regulatory framework in order to create an enabling environment for Islamic finance, and the sharing of experiences and expertise of both institutions in the agreed areas. On signing the agreement, Khaled Al Aboodi, the ICD CEO, explained that it would strengthen and deepen the relationship of ICD with the regional economies of the WAEMU and help increase the exchange of expertise, knowledge and resources between the financial markets of the emerging countries. Mory Soumahoro, the secretary general of CREPMF, said: “The development of the current regulatory framework for WAEMU's financial market is significant. This is to ensure the mobilization of resources from the economic actors working in the sub-region through the usage of Islamic finance instruments. The 2014-2021 Strategic Plan for the WAEMU regional financial market has identified the development of Islamic finance as a complementary tool to enhance the financial center of WAEMU. “After signing this agreement, extensive funding opportunities will be opened to the operators of WAEMU's financial market. In addition, Islamic finance instruments are effective and permit the diversification of the risk in the financial markets and the investors' databases.” The ICD is a multilateral organization, part of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. ICD was established in November 1999 to promote economic development of its member countries in accordance with the principles of the Shariah through private sector development. ICD encourages the establishment, expansion and modernization of private enterprises through financing private sector enterprises or projects. Projects are selected on the basis of their contribution to economic development considering factors such as creation of employment opportunities and contribution to exports. CREPMF is the organ of guardianship and control of the market, created July 3, 1996, by an agreement signed between the states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), within the framework of the implementation of the financial market of the Union. It is placed under the authority of the Council of EU Ministers. Organizationally, CREPMF has a deliberative body within which sit on the one hand, the representatives of each member state of the Union and, on the other hand, representatives of EU institutions that are BCEAO, WAEMU Commission, the Court of Justice and the Court of Auditors WAEMU. It is chaired alternately by a representative of the member states. The regional council is responsible for the general task of protecting savings invested in securities and other investment resulting in a public tender procedure to savings in the Union. At the end of August 2015, the financial market which supervises CREPMF has mobilized nearly 4,500 billion FCFA ($7.5 billion) to finance sovereign issuers, regional and international organizations and the private sector. — SG
