7 countries have already confirmed participation in the 7th World Islamic Economic Forum

20 nations have been invited to attend the 7th World Islamic Economic Forum to be held in Astana June 7-9, 2011, Syed Omar Abu Bakar Almohdzar, World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation Managing Director, told a briefing today. “At the level of Prime Ministers, 4 nations have confirmed their participation – Indonesia, Malaysia, Iraq and Bahrain “, he said. “Altogether, 7 out of 20 nations have confirmed participation”. Kazakhstan will be the first nation of Central Asia to host a World Islamic Economic Forum. World Islamic Economic Forum is headquartered in Malaysia. Formerly known as the OIC Business Forum, the Forum was renamed to reflect the inclusion of Muslim business communities in other parts of the world and also to include the participation of the non-Muslim business community interested to establish good business relationships with the Muslim world. The WIEF Foundation was established on the 6th March 2006 to institutionalise the World Islamic Economic Forum. The Foundation seeks to fulfill its objective of organizing its annual and regional Forums and to implement the programmes established under the WIEF initiatives. Kazakhstan is already home to Al Hilal Islamic Bank, which is a 100% subsidiary of Al Hilal Bank, UAE, and the first Islamic bank in Kazakhstan and CIS countries. First Islamic banking license obtained on 17th of March, 2010. A second Islamic bank is to shortly emerge in Kazakhstan to offer services mostly to individuals.