8th WIEF to showcase Johor
Deals worth RM28 billion were forged at the Eighth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) here Tuesday..
THE 8th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) will see a hard sell of Johor this year, with a segment specifically dedicated to investment opportunities in Johor, at the three-day forum.
The annual event will be held at Persada Johor International Convention Centre, Johor Bahru, from December 4 to December 6 2012.
"We are taking this opportunity to show that Malaysia is not only Kuala Lumpur, that there are other things happening on the economic front in other parts of the country."
"It is based on that logic that I said let's showcase Johor, because Johor is one of the most dynamic states that has been planned and sustained to attract investments," WIEF Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam said in an interview after a media briefing on the forum yesterday.
The event is a joint collaboration between the WIEF foundation and the Johor state government..
WIEF has seen the participation of between 700 and 2,700 delegates in previous years. It is targeting 1,500 participants for the 8th WIEF.
On whether Johor Bahru is able to cater to the demands of such a sophisticated crowd, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the state has seen many changes in the last two to three years and the infrastructure which has been put in place makes it a worthy host.
Speaking on WIEF, Musa said there is a lot more to be done to help bridge the gap between Islamic economic communities.
"There is a lot to be done because within the Islamic world, there are countries that never seem to even want to look (out) because they are Western oriented and prejudiced against themselves," he said.
"One of the biggest enemies of the developing world, especially in the Muslim economic community, is what I call the inferiority complex. Now, I feel that there is a resurgence of confidence but there is still a lot of work to be done."
The 8th WIEF will cover topics such as Waqf and the business of Nanotech in an effort to introduce new elements into its yearly discussions which will also discuss Islamic financing and the global economic outlook.
Meanwhile, the Global Leadership Dialogue will cover specific areas, including the lingering debt crisis and the unemployment dilemma, the dynamics of global capital, Asia's steady economic outlook and new drivers of growth.
Komuniti Blogger JB
www.johor.blogspot.com
