UKIFC, in partnership with United Nations, GEFI, Refinitiv and IsDB is organising a virtual global series on Islamic finance and the SDGs, to coincide with the UN General Assembly 2022.

The series will:

• Examine some of the operational, regulatory and commercial opportunities and challenges for the Islamic finance sector in engaging with the global ESG/sustainability movement;
• Showcase the practical progress made by Islamic financial institutions on the SDGs, including multilateral organisations, governments, and commercial banks and asset managers;
• Discuss the commercial opportunities and implementation challenges associated with green and sustainable sukuk; and
• Showcase the role for Islamic social finance in achieving the SDGs.

By focusing on the natural alignment between the Islamic faith and the SDGs, we will seek to drive engagement with and acceptance of the Global Goals among communities who might otherwise not engage with them.

The series will feature a mixture of high-level discussion panels, keynotes and practical showcases of SDGs in action in Islamic finance.

The Global Islamic Finance and SDGs Taskforce, initiated by the UKIFC, was launched by the UK Government together with IsDB in 2020 to promote awareness and adoption of the SDGs amongst commercial Islamic financial institutions. This series is informed by, and builds on, the work of the Taskforce and the UKIFC’s and GEFI’s broader activities in promoting the SDGs at COP26 and the G20 Indonesia and the Global Ethical Finance Summit.