The Italian city of Turin is ready for the fourth edition of the Turin Islamic Economic Forum (TIEF)

The TIEF 2019 will be held from 28 to 30 October at the Turin Incontra conference centre and at Villa Gualino in the city of Turin, Italy entitled “Creating a Holistic Environment for the Islamic Economy”. In the three days, eight sessions are scheduled with in-depth and debates, three interviews and forty-six speakers among public administrators, researchers and university professors, entrepreneurs and financial experts. The TIEF forum is organized by the City of Turin, together with the Chamber of Commerce of Turin, the University of Turin and Assaif, the Association for the Development of Alternative Instruments and Financial Innovation, with the organizational support of Turismo Torino e Provincia. The University of Turin shows itself among the promoters and organizers of the TIEF. “Activities like these – declared Rector Stefano Geuna – confirm the attention of the University to the territories and communities that inhabit them. This year, TIEF dedicates a day to the international academic debate that will bring Italian and foreign researchers to the city who will discuss for the first time the social impact generated by Islamic finance “.

The Islamic finance sector is growing rapidly and it is estimated that the turnover of Islamic assets has exceeded 2.5 trillion dollars and that in recent years Europe, characterized by the growth of Muslims, is witnessing an increase in values of Islamic finance and economics. The demand for products compatible with Islamic shariah is constantly growing and is aimed at ever greater and different types of products. In the food sector, Muslim consumers spend 1300 billion dollars; the clothing sectors are followed by $ 270 billion, media and entertainment $ 209 billion, tourism $ 177 billion, and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, respectively, $ 87 billion and $ 61 billion.

“The interchange between the Piedmont region and the 10 main countries of Islamic finance reached in 2018 a value exceeding 4 billion and 680 million euros. These are very different markets, with specific needs and excellent opportunities for our companies in various sectors, from automotive and transportation to agribusiness, from mechanics to textiles ”; explained Vincenzo Ilotte, president of the Chamber of Commerce.

The TIEF has to its credit three editions held in 2014, 2015 and 2017, which have encouraged meetings and networking with companies and institutions in the major cities of the Middle East. In particular, the events allowed local companies to enter into industrial and supply agreements with companies in the Middle East and to public institutions and Italian research centres to interact with the most important players in the Islamic finance and economics worldwide.
“The TIEF is the result of intense research work conducted by the Islamic Finance Observatory of the University of Turin – said Paolo Pietro Biancone, head of the Observatory on Islamic Finance at the University of Turin -. We are very proud to have stimulated to promote initiatives of attraction of investments for our territory. Some countries of the Islamic world have the characteristics to be excellent investors in the Italian territory, specifically the Piedmontese one, without eradicating cultures, skills and origins for sustainable and conscious development “.

The TIEF 2019 provides three days of meetings to learn about and explore the following topics: Fintech, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence, New Urban Policies, ‘Social Impact’ Policies, Islamic Creative Economics and generate opportunities for exchange, and learn the best practices from the world. The last day will be dedicated to the scientific study of Islamic financial and economic notions.

Preparation :

Khaled Safran
Mohamad Kamal