H.E. the IDB President & Honorary Fellow of WIEF Foundation, Ahmad Mohamed Ali, attended and presented his welcoming address in the opening of the 12^th World Islamic Economic Forum in Jakarta, 2 August 2016. H.E. President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo inaugurated the forum and presented the Keynote Address while H.E. the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Patron of the WIEF Foundation, Dato’ Sri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak, presented his Special Address. A number of foreign government leaders and high level officials attended the event, including H.E. Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Mulyani Indrawati and H.E. Minister for National Development Planning and Chairman of Bappenas, Bambang Brodjonegoro.

In his welcoming address, H.E. the IDB President highlighted how the MSMEs have a greater role to play for a more sustainable economic growth. As part of IDB Group interventions focused on decentralizing growth and people-centered economic development, it had over the years launched a number of major flagship programs. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of IDB Group, had launched the ICD’s SME Finance Initiative providing a comprehensive range of Shariah-compliant financial products and services to SMEs to meet their financial needs.

The 12^th WIEF was held on 2-4 August 2016 in Jakarta, carrying the theme of “Decentralizing Growth, Empowering Future Business”. It featured 110 speakers from public and private sectors, from SMEs, entrepreneurs, and academia. It was estimated that more than 3,000 participants attended attending the event. (Photo: WIEF Foundation)