Baku, Azerbaijan, July 14
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
There is no need in establishing an Islamic bank in Azerbaijan, head of the Azerbaijan Banks Association (ABA) Zakir Nuriyev told Trend.
He noted that there is a demand for Islamic banking services in Azerbaijan, but these services can be rendered through the existing banks.
“In the past, the demand for Islamic banking services [in Azerbaijan] was met by the Islamic banking department of the International Bank of Azerbaijan. Today, we have no banks that specialize in Islamic banking because all of them operate on the basis of a universal license. They can provide the Islamic banking services as it is not prohibited by law,” Nuriyev said.
The ABA head noted that he does not see the need to create a separate bank, which will offer only Islamic financing services.
“At present, we have several banks that offer Islamic banking services and I believe that such services are easier to offer in the banks operating in the country, without creating a separate financial institution for this.”
In June, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economy and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) started preparing an action plan as part of introducing legislation regarding Islamic financing in the country. The IDB provided technical assistance in the amount of $200,000 for preparing legal base for Islamic financing in Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan joined the Islamic Development Bank in 1992. The areas most interesting for the IDB in Azerbaijan are energy, irrigation, road construction and agriculture.
