Kazakhstan proposes initiatives to modernize Muslim countries
Speaking at the 7th World Islamic Economic Forum in Astana Nazarbayev noted that Muslim countries must undergo a serious modernization. "Without it the historical lag may be prolonged for another century," the President said.
"Accurate, balanced choice of a modernization model would be our common contribution to the development of the billion and a half Muslim Ummah. In this regard, Kazakhstan today offers a range of initiatives we could implement together," Nazarbayev emphasized.
The first initiative is aimed at creating new areas of economic cooperation through the establishment on the basis of the WIEF a dialogue platform of the top ten economies of the Muslim community.
The second proposal is to establish International Innovation Center with the participation of the concerned countries of the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Special attention is paid to the support of small and medium enterprises. Thus, the third idea of Kazakhstan is the formation of a special working group of the WIEF to discuss launching of a special foundation for SMEs under the Islamic Development Bank.
The President stressed that Kazakhstan is interested in cooperation with Muslim countries, in attracting Islamic finance. According to experts, the potential of growth of Islamic investment in Kazakhstan in the coming years is up to USD 10 billion.