On October 2-3, 2025, participants of the Eurasian Development Bank's Annual Meeting & Business Forum, an important event in the field of international cooperation, will gather in Tashkent.
Representatives from multilateral development banks, international organizations, the business sector, scientific and expert communities, professional associations, and journalists from various countries will converge on this platform to exchange experiences, discuss topical issues, and outline pathways for joint development.
The Business Forum will serve as a catalyst for fruitful discussions, sparking new ideas and solutions that impact the economy of the Eurasian region.
As part of the business program, participants will consider a wide range of topics, including:
- Global economic trends and their impact on the Eurasian region
- Investing in sustainable development
- Digital technologies and innovations for Eurasia
- The Future of Islamic Finance in Central Asia
- Transport development of landlocked countries
- The potential of the Eurasian transport framework
As of the beginning of 2024, global Islamic finance assets totalled approximately US $4.0 trillion, constituting almost 2% of global banking sector assets.
The segment is experiencing rapid growth, with Islamic assets globally expanding at an average annual rate of 10.5% between 2015 and 2021, compared to 5.8% for conventional financial assets.
Islamic banks operate in over 40 countries. In most nations with developed Islamic finance, it coexists effectively with conventional finance. Besides the Gulf and Southeast Asian countries, Europe and North Africa are witnessing active 3 development of Islamic finance. The UK is Europe’s largest market and leader in Islamic banking (US $7.5 billion in assets).
In the Central Asian countries, the Islamic finance sector is in its nascent stage, with Islamic financial instruments accounting for 0.2% to 1.5% of banking assets. The sector’s structure is still evolving. Kazakhstan leads the region in Islamic finance development, representing 68% of all Islamic finance in the Central Asian countries.
A crucial element of the Islamic finance infrastructure is the presence of international development institutions, which serve as knowledge conduits and benchmarks for investment in the region. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group provides development finance to the public and private sectors.
Yahya Rehman heads the Islamic finance research, capacity building, technical assistance, and advisory team at the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI). Yahya is a Development Economist and Advisory Services Leader with over two decades of global experience and expertise in Islamic finance, strategy development, feasibility studies, business planning, capacity building, and project management. Yahya is a member of the AAOIFI Board of Trustees and sits on the AAOIFI’s Audit and Governance, and Nominations Committees, and the AAOIFI Education Board. Yahya is also a member of various technical working groups of the IFSB and CIBAFI. Yahya is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Global Islamic Finance and Impact Investing Platform (GIFIIP) – a joint initiative of the IsDB and UNDP.
Ruslan Dalenov is the Vice Chairman of the Management Board, Eurasian Development Bank since February 2021. He is responsible for the project sector and development of Islamic finance within the Bank. Before his appointment to the EDB, he was the Minister of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 2019. He held the posts of First Vice-Minister of National Economy and Vice-Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He worked in various positions in the Tax Committee, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of State Revenue of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ruslan Dalenov graduated from Marmara University (Republic of Turkey) and the Financial Academy (Republic of Kazakhstan).
Dr. Al-Suwailem is currently Acting Director General of the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI), the Islamic Development Bank Group, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Before joining IRTI in 2004, Dr. Al-Suwailem managed the Research and Development Center at Al-Rajhi Bank, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He worked at the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Sciences in America, Virginia; Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois, USA; and King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Al-Suwailem held membership in several professional committees, including the Technical Committee of the Islamic Financial Services Board; Economic Committee of Awqaf at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in Riyadh; Academic Committee in Islamic Fiqh Academy of Muslim World League; Liquidity Risk Management Working Group at IFSB; and Task Force for Islamic Finance and Global Financial Stability at IsDB, among others. He obtained his M.A. from Southern Illinois University in 1990, and his Ph.D. from Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, in 1995. He authored many books and published several papers on Islamic economics and finance.
