DOHA: Qatar will be the venue of ‘Leaders in Islamic Finance 2009’, an international Islamic leadership summit to be held on April 19 to 21 at the W Doha Hotel.

The summit will see Shariah scholars, Islamic financial institution principals, ministers, governors and regulators gather to discuss the main challenges currently facing the Islamic finance industry.

Qatar was chosen as the site of the conference since it is emerging as one of the most dynamic economies in the Middle East, according to the conference’s website. Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world and enjoys one of the fastest growing GDPs, reaching 13.3 percent real GDP, and valued in 2008 at over $80bn.

In terms of Islamic finance, Qatar is home to some of the largest Islamic Financial Institutions in the world and is fast becoming another pivotal centre for this sector within the GCC.

World-renowned scholars will take part in forums, roundtables and panel sessions throughout summit. There will also be a full-day workshop led by Dar Al Sharia, a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank, which is guided by distinguished Shariah scholar Dr. Hussain Hamed Hassan.

Other noted keynote speakers in the summit include Dr. Nasser Saidi, Chief Economist, Dubai International Financial Centre Authority; R. Seetharaman, CEO, Doha Bank Group; and Jamil El Jaroudi, CEO, Elaf Bank.

The summit is also supported by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) which is leading the way in standardising many aspects of the global industry, and the Qatar Financial Centre.

The financial crisis has widened the global appeal of Islamic finance as western governments and institutions attempt to tap into deposits from the Islamic world by courting Islamic Financial Institutions (IFI), which remain relatively unscathed by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.