Dr. Reza Baqir, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), has been appointed as the chairman of the Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB), Malaysia, for the year 2022.
According to a press statement issued by the central bank on Friday, Dr. Baqir’s appointment was approved by the IFSB Council in its 39th meeting held on Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). He had been serving earlier as the deputy chairman of the IFSB Council for the year 2021.
Dr. Baqir will also be serving as the chairman of the IFSB General Assembly for the year 2022. The General Assembly is the representative body of all the members of the IFSB, namely full members, associate members and observer members.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Baqir said that he felt deeply honoured to assume the chairmanship of the Council of IFSB. He thanked his fellow council members for placing their trust in him. He also expressed his sincere gratitude to Khaled Mohamed Balama Al Tameemi – Governor Central Bank of UAE – for leading the council for the year 2021 in an excellent manner.
The governor SBP expressed that with the support of his fellow council members, he aspires to help IFSB realise its mandate and continue providing high-quality intellectual guidance to the global Islamic finance industry as envisaged in IFSB’s forward-looking and ambitious Strategic Performance Plan 2022-24.
He also pledged to transform IFSB as one of the most progressive and robust standard-setting bodies globally. The IFSB Council is the senior executive and policymaking body of the IFSB. It consists of one representative each from a full member of the IFSB, comprising senior executives from leading regulatory and supervisory authorities on Islamic finance. Currently, there are 187 members of the IFSB, which comprise 81 regulatory and supervisory authorities, 10 international inter-governmental organizations, and 96 market players (financial institutions, professional firms, industry associations and stock exchanges) operating in 57 jurisdictions.
