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Indonesian president opens 12th World Islamic Economic Forum

Xinhua, August 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Indonesian President Joko Widodo opened the 12th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here on Tuesday, urging the Muslim community to use their fundamental powers to tap fortune in global economy and to address education and training issue for the youths.

Inaugurating the opening of the 12th WIEF held in the capital city's landmark convention center of JCC here, President Widodo said that Muslim community has the fundamental powers to tackle economic issues lingering the world at present.

According to president of the host country, Muslim community has the best demographic figures which is apparently dominated by youths if compared with other communities.

"The age average of Muslim youths across the world was at 23 years old with the median age recorded at 30 years old,"President Widodo said with leaders of several countries at presence.

Besides the demographic advantage, Widodo added that Muslim community also sees the vibrant development of Sharia financial industry which now worths millions of U.S. dollars.

Similar rapid development of Muslim community-connected business was also seen in fashion, the president said, adding that all of it has the potential to create a new world economy.

Despite those compelling facts, the Indonesian president said that world's Muslim community faces challenges from high unemployment rates and poor capability to boost their competitiveness.

"We should boost their capabilities to interact and compete with other communities. With the absence of education and training efforts for Muslim community, we would still be lagged behind by others," President Widodo pointed out.

The opening ceremony of the 12th WIEF was attended by Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Guinea President Alpha Conde and Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Shriyan Wickemenshinghe. The president of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Ahmad Mohamed Ali was also present among dignitaries attending the event.

Themed "Decentralizing Growth, Empowering Future Business,"the 12th WIEF would run until Aug. 4 with the participation of more than 2,500 delegates from 69 countries. The WIEF was originally designed as a grand meeting to meet representatives of governments, businessmen and scholars.

Besides exhibiting products for Muslim community market, the event was also filled with seminars and discussions guided by acclaimed speakers and scholars from Indonesia, Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Kenya, Ethiopia, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Sweden, South Arica, Spain and Australia. Enditem