UAE: 2nd Global Islamic Economy Summit 2015 (GIES)

GIES logoDubai: Under the patronage of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad, Crown Prince of Dubai, has given a directive to organise the second Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES). The summit will gather more than 2,000 policymakers, thinkers, and business leaders to build a road map around the key pillars of the Islamic economy and benefit from sectorial growth and innovations within the global economic system.

The summit will be organised by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) and Dubai Chamber in partnership with Thomson Reuters from October 5-6, and held at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

GIES 2015 will build upon the success of the inaugural edition in 2013 with its focus on innovation, growth strategies, and the high uptake of brands and services within the Islamic economy sector. The event will offer insights on a number of pillars of Islamic economy, including finance, the halal industry, tourism, education, arts and design, the digital economy and standards, compliance, and standardisation

The summit will highlight successful innovations as well as new opportunities in ethical/impact investment, organic food, modest clothing, family-friendly travel, media, recreation trends and technology solutions.

Considerable impact

Features of GIES 2015 that are expected to generate significant interest include the Islamic Economy Awards ceremony, an “Entrepreneurship for Impact” competition jointly organised with Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, as well as an art exhibition showcasing new Islamic artwork and a concert celebrating Islamic artists.

His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Board, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), said: “The second edition of the summit will definitely have considerable impact on the trends within the Islamic economy sector, especially in terms of identifying and developing insights across the key segments of Islamic economy. The upcoming summit will aim to showcase some of the world’s best practices in this domain, and boost innovation and creative approaches to investment opportunities. We will utilise the summit to create new opportunities to support our position as pioneers of the Islamic economy in the World.”

The second edition is being held at a time when the Islamic economy is driven by a consumer base of 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide — a population base that is projected to grow at almost double the rate of the world’s non-Muslim population and is expected to spend nearly $3.7 trillion (Dh13.6 trillion) by 2019 in the core sectors of the Islamic economy.