Dubai, (IINA) – Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) has launched the first UAE Shariah Departments Forum 2016 to create a platform where the Shariah departments of financial institutions across the country can meet to exchange experiences and share solutions to the challenges they face, with the strategic objective of developing the Islamic financial services sector in the UAE, Gulf News reported.

The opening event took place on Saturday. As the first event of its kind in the country, the forum was led by the Shariah department at DIB and featured the Shariah departments of other local Islamic banks including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (AIB), Emirates Islamic and Al Hilal Bank (EIAB). “Sharia Audit” was the theme of the event this year with a very comprehensive series of panels, each of which was led by one of the participants, discussing a different element of the topic.

DIB chaired a session on the “Shariah Auditor’s Guide”, while other banks covered topics such as “Shariah audit based on the risk of non-compliance” which was managed by AIB; “The relationship between Shariah audit and internal audit, and areas of cooperation” by Emirates Islamic; and “The differences between the Shariah auditor and the Shariah compliance reviewer” by Al Hilal Bank. The event concluded with a round-table discussion on the findings and the recommendations of the forum.

The event was established as a leading annual platform to discuss the most pressing issues facing Shariah departments and to develop innovative solutions that will drive the ongoing evolution of the Islamic financial services sector.

DIB’s Shariah department is looking forward to expanding this Forum over the next four years to include all the Islamic banks and Islamic windows in the country, as well as Islamic Finance companies, such as Takaful providers.