But what, you might ask, does all this have to do with the UK or the Bank of England, when the centre of gravity for Islamic finance lies in the Middle East, North Africa, South and South East Asia? Well, the fact is that, outside those regions, the UK is the pre-eminent centre for Islamic finance. And that reflects its significant, well-established domestic Muslim population; its strong relationships with the wider Muslim world; and its deep expertise in financial market origination and distribution, embedded in a mature legal and regulatory framework.5 Indeed, Islamic finance in the UK goes back many decades (Table 2): from commodity-based short term liquidity management and trade finance in the 1970s, to the first UK Islamic bank, investment funds and takaful in the early 1980s.6  Defined by the Islamic Financial Services Board as countries where at least 15% of banking assets are (self-declared as) Shari’ah compliant. 4 Islamic financial instruments conferring direct partial ownership of underlying assets. 5 See for instance ‘Challenges and Opportunities for Islamic Banking and Finance in the West: the United Kingdom Experience’ by Rodney Wilson [1999, 2000] 7(1&2) Islamic Economic Studies 35-59; or ‘Islamic Finance in the United Kingdom: Factors Behind its Development and Growth’ by Ahmed Belouafi and Abdelkader Chachi [2014] 22(1) 37-78. 6 Al Barakah International Bank, Dar Al Mal Al Islami, and Takaful UK Ltd respectively.
As such, the global recovery will be based on trust and solidarity between nations. Is such cooperation possible? Europe is a case in point. Let´s take again the example of vaccines. When the prospect of a common vaccination pool and 2/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  the purchase of vaccines on an uncoordinated basis was aired, European institutions took the decision to cooperate. That has allowed vaccines to be provided at the same time for countries with very different production or vaccine-purchase capabilities. It is an example of cooperation worth exporting to global vaccination programmes. Another example is the case of the policies needed to tackle climate change. The European Union has pioneered a system of cross-country carbon emission rights. This mechanism, according to recent studies, has led to a reduction of more than 10% in the emissions of regulated companies.3This coordinated effort has seen the EU commit to a binding target of a net domestic reduction of at least 55% in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. It far exceeds the commitment to cut emissions by at least 40% under the Paris Agreement. Again let us view the European Union as a laboratory for what the multilateral effort can – ideally – achieve. European economic institutions: unfinished work However, in order for Europe to play this role properly, Europe should deepen its own integration project. Only by addressing the remaining challenges of our political and economic integration process, we – European – can aim to contribute decisively to global objectives.