JEDDAH – The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group will continue to provide support towards promoting awareness on Islamic finance in Guyana.

Director General of IRTI, Dr. Humayon Dar, said this while receiving the Ambassador of Guyana to Kuwait, Dr. Shamir Ally, who paid him a courtesy visit at the IsDB headquarters on Tuesday.

Guyana joined IsDB in 2016 as its 57th member country. Dr. Ally, who is also Guyana’s IsDB Alternate Governor, visited IRTI to seek for assistance on creating the enabling environment for Islamic financial services in his country.

Responding to the request, the IRTI Director General expressed the Institute’s readiness to continue to support Guyana’s authorities to take the necessary steps for introducing Islamic finance.

Dr. Dar explained that the best way to introduce Islamic finance in a country like Guyana, whose Muslim population is a minority, is to undertake awareness creation so that the society would first understand the value proposition of Islamic finance.

He added that Guyana could learn a lot from experiences of other Muslim-minority countries that successfully introduced Islamic finance. He said IRTI would consider organizing activities aimed at fostering awareness on Islamic finance in Guyana.

The Guyanese Ambassador was also informed that IRTI had previously organized a workshop on Islamic finance in Suriname with the participation of officials of Guyana’s central bank and other institutions.

Earlier in his remarks, the Ambassador told the IRTI Director General that given the composition of the Guyana population, it was important to sensitize the people on the benefits of Islamic finance.

About the IRTI:

The Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI) is a Member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group responsible for enabling the development and sustenance of a dynamic and comprehensive Islamic financial services industry, which supports socio-economic development of member countries and Muslim communities worldwide. — SG