Collaboration between the two countries could be in many forms; for instance Turkish investors and financial institutions could use Malaysia as a gateway to the Asean region. Malaysian financial community could use Turkey as a base to Central Asian region and Europe. In the area of Islamic finance, Malaysia is committed to be a partner with Turkey to further promote the business prospect in this country. Malaysia being an Islamic financial hub in Asia is willing to share with Turkey our 30 years of experience in developing its Islamic  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  financial industry and our knowledge and insights in operating an Islamic financial system that runs parallel with its conventional counterpart. Potential Turkey-Malaysia partnership in Islamic finance There are vast opportunities for Turkey-Malaysia bilateral cooperation, however let me mention five key areas of possible cooperation that could increase cross-border activities between our two countries. These are in the area of sukuk issuance, promoting cross-border activities, Islamic fund management, partnership in innovation and in education and research. Firstly, in the area of sukuk issuance, we welcome Turkish financial and business community to use Malaysia’s comprehensive and tested infrastructure with its extensive investors network as a platform to raise funds such as sukuk and Islamic syndication financing. The multi-currency sukuk market in Malaysia is well developed and active with over 60% of the outstanding sukuk in the world originating from Malaysia.
Among his many achievements was the time he steered the country during the 1997 – 98 Asian crisis. His unorthodox policies then have become mainstream now. Under his leadership, Malaysia experienced modernisation and economic prosperity, a development most profound for my generation. That modernisation included the early development of Islamic financial system. From the seeds planted during Tun Mahathir’s time, we are now seeing the maturing of the Islamic financial system in Malaysia that is innovative, competitive and increasingly internationalised. What was once a novelty has become an alternative means of conducting business. We owe this very much to Tun Dr. Mahathir’s foresight and wisdom. Not many people today realised that one of the first actions that Tun Dr. Mahathir took when he came to office in 1981 was to set up a National Steering Committee to implement Islamic banking in Malaysia. The report of this committee on the viability and strategy of the Islamic banking, was the impetus for the creation and robust development of the Islamic financial industry in Malaysia. The rest they say is history. Global economic challenges and Islamic finance The world is transforming and its transformation is way beyond what we had seen before. This is an era of radical change, new rules are being formulated, standards and best practices that were in vogue hardly 5 years are now considered insufficient.