The first-place winner of the 2024 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Prize for Impactful Achievement (https://IsDBInstitute.org/) in Islamic Economics, Professor Mehmet Asutay, received the award during a ceremony in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The award was presented by the IsDB Vice President (Operations), Dr. Mansur Muhtar, on behalf of H.E. the President, Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, during the 18th IsDB Global Forum on Islamic Finance, held on the sidelines of the IsDB Group Annual Meetings and Golden Jubilee Celebration. The first-place prize comes with a US$ 50,000 award and a certificate for the winner.

A professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Political Economy&Finance at Durham University, Prof. Asutay was awarded the prize in recognition of his significant work on Islamic moral economy and the articulation of Islamic finance to be supportive of sustainable development and the welfare of human beings.

The winner was selected by an independent committee of experts from outside the IsDB Group, whose work is coordinated by the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

In his comments on this occasion, Prof. Asutay said: “I am grateful to the Selection Committee for this prestigious prize and the recognition of my work in Islamic Moral Political Economy and the impact it has so far created. I dedicate this award to my students and research collaborators, whose insights have been invaluable.

“I thank Allah (SWT) for giving me the strength to pursue a just and empowering economic framework inspired by Islamic values and norms in essentialising an ihsani (sustainance of an equilibrium based) governance system to ensure resource accessibility within the defined permissibilities of Islam. I appreciate the Founding Fathers of Islamic Economics and the IsDB Institute for their pioneering works, and I am grateful to have collaborated with many inspiring Founding Fathers and academics and professionals over the past decades.”

Prof. Asutay is the Director of the Durham Centre for Islamic Economics and Finance, the Programme Director for MSc in Islamic Finance, and the Director of the Durham Islamic Finance Summer School.

He teaches and supervises research on Islamic Political Economy; Islamic Moral Economy; Islamic Banking, Finance and Management; and Political Economy of Development in the Middle East, including Turkish Political Economy and Kurdish Political Economy.

The prize laureate has a Ph.D. in Political Economics and MA in Economics of Public Policy from the University of Leicester (UK);  a Postgraduate Diploma in Economic and Social Policy Analysis from the University of York (UK); and also studied for MSc in Public Finance at the University of Istanbul (Türkiye).

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI).

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About the Islamic Development Bank Institute:
The Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) is the knowledge beacon of the Islamic Development Bank Group. Guided by the principles of Islamic economics and finance, the IsDB Institute leads the development of innovative knowledge-based solutions to support the sustainable economic advancement of IsDB Member Countries and various Muslim communities worldwide. The IsDB Institute enables economic development through pioneering research, human capital development, and knowledge creation, dissemination, and management. The Institute leads initiatives to enable Islamic finance ecosystems, ultimately helping Member Countries achieve their development objectives. More information about the IsDB Institute is available on https://IsDBInstitute.org/

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is participating in the “High-Level Workshop on Regional Integration. This hybrid workshop, organised both physically and virtually, kicks-off in Kasane, Botswana from Sunday 28 April 2024 and extending through Tuesday 30 April 2024 and is under the theme “43 Years of Regional Integration: Where are we and way forward”.

The primary objective of the workshop is to cultivate a deeper understanding, foster better collaboration, and coordinate regional integration efforts to advance the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Integration Agenda.

At the end of the three-day workshop, participants include Senior Officers from SADC, African Union, UNECA, ECOWAS, World Bank, are expected to: (1) gain broader understanding and awareness of the significance, and progress made on SADC’s integration agenda and the direction the Region must take with regards to the integration milestones; (2) propose policy reforms, regulatory changes, and institutional improvements to enhance regional cooperation, trade facilitation, and infrastructure development; (3) list prioritised projects, interventions, synergies and collaborations aimed at promoting regional integration and sustainable development; and (4) document opportunities, challenges, lessons learned, and good practices in regional integration, among others.

The participation of ECOWAS in this workshop holds significant importance for the organisers, as it provides an opportunity for SADC to glean insights from ECOWAS’ integration journey, which can be applied to bolster SADC’s efforts.

Representing the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E. Dr. Alieu Omar Touray, and the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs. Massandje Toure-Litse, at this hybrid workshop, are Ambassador Francis Oke, the Permanent Representative to the African Union, and Mr. Albert Siaw-Boateng, the Director of Free Movement of Persons and Migration.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In a bid to strengthen bilateral ties and explore potential investment opportunities, H.E, Upender Singh Rawat, on April 26th 2024 met with Hon. Oryem Henry Okello, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (International Affairs) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was a follow-up to the successful visit of an Indian Business Delegation to Uganda earlier this month that aimed at fostering commercial and economic cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, both parties engaged in productive discussions regarding ongoing and upcoming investment projects that could benefit both India and Uganda.

In his remarks, the High Commissioner expressed India’s keen interest in furthering collaboration in key sectors such as technology, energy and infrastructure. Hon. Okello thanked the Government of India for the continued interest in Uganda’s economic growth and development. He emphasized the importance of such partnerships in driving innovation, creating job opportunities, and enhancing the overall socio-economic landscape of the nation. In concluding, both parties remained optimistic about the positive outcomes that could arise from this collaborative effort. The Indian High Commissioner reaffirmed India’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s development agenda and looked forward to further engagements that will solidify the partnership between the two nations.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Uganda – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On April 27, 2024 a meeting was held between the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Sergei Terentiev, and the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt, Mohamed El-Quseir. 

The parties discussed the activity of the Belarus-Egypt Joint Group on cooperation in the agricultural sector. The Egyptian side also expressed interest in collaboration with Belarus in the production of animal feed, particularly by attracting Belarusian technologies in Egypt, as well as in the fields of seed breeding, agricultural machinery manufacturing, and grain storage.

An agreement was reached to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Academy of  Sciences of Belarus and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation of Egypt. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.