KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Takaful Association (MTA) today signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Iranian Insurance Research Centre (IRC) to form a collaboration on developing knowledge-based takaful enrichment programmes.
MTA chief executive officer Mohd Radzuan Mohamed said the collaboration will assist in the industry’s development and strengthen Malaysia’s position in the multi-trillion dollar global Islamic economy.
“Collaboration between MTA and similar associations around the world is not new. What is new this time is that Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) had early last year issued a Financial Sector Blueprint 2022-2026,” he said after the MoA ceremony here today.
“(With the blueprint), BNM basically aspires to achieve certain strategic objectives, one of which is to promote advanced Islamic finance leadership not only internally but also globally,” he said.
He said the collaboration follows past efforts to engage with associations and institutes around the world to propagate Islamic finance, especially the takaful sector.
The collaboration enables both parties to leverage each other’s experience. They will cooperate on knowledge cultivation, training and education, and data intelligence exchange. At the same time, international relationships between domestic and international insurance industries can be fostered.
It will also seek to strengthen and expand IRC’s scientific relations with related academic institutions in the area of joint scientific journals, multilateral scientific conferences, and international specialised workshops.
Meanwhile, IRC chief executive officer Prof Mohammad Mahdi Asgari said Iran has 40 years of Islamic banking experience and all its banks are shariah-compliant, but takaful is not implemented in the country.
“In the new government, however, the economic affairs minister has said that takaful should be implemented as soon as possible,” he said.
Iran currently has 37 insurance companies, with about 10 ready to offer takaful products, he said.
“We studied and surveyed takaful models from our insurance companies. If they (the models) are shariah-compliant and abide with the legal framework of Iran’s insurance industry, we will permit them to sell takaful products,” he said.
According to the Islamic Financial Services Board, Malaysia is the third-largest takaful market globally with a vibrant Islamic finance ecosystem that includes Islamic financial institutions, regulators, shariah-compliant corporates, Islamic fund managers, and halal industries that seek takaful products. – Bernama, January 18, 2023
