Industry leaders and experts from across the globe will gather in Abu Dhabi in October for the Summit of the Islamic Financial Services Board, IFSB 2017.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates will host this year's summit under the theme "Reinvigorating the Momentum of Islamic Finance: Solidifying Resilience and Sustaining Growth." It will take place against the backdrop of a world economy that is undergoing a paradigm shift resulting from the new uncertainties emerging from a changing global geopolitical landscape, evolving monetary policy tightening in the US, sluggish recovery in oil prices and a general uncertainty in the economic outlook.

The three-day IFSB Summit 2017 seeks to discuss the issues and challenges facing the Islamic financial services industry in the present conditions with a view to finding opportunities to reinvigorate the growth momentum across the various sectors while solidifying resilience of the institutions offering Islamic financial services. These efforts need to be considered in conjunction with supportive policy reforms by the regulatory and supervisory authorities, particularly at this time of ongoing implementation of post-financial crisis strengthened regulatory requirements.

Previous IFSB summits have been held in Kazakhstan (2015), Mauritius (2014), Malaysia (2013), Turkey (2012), Luxembourg (2011), Bahrain (2010), as well as Singapore and the UK.

The summit welcomes high-level participants from regulatory and supervisory authorities, institutions offering Islamic financial services, international organisations, multilateral development banks, academics, scholars, market players, and think tanks among others.

Panellists will discuss a range of issues including Islamic Finance: From Niche to Mainstream; the FinTech Innovative Progression: Boon or Bane For Traditional Financial Institutions?; Implementing New Regulatory Reforms: Balancing Between the Soundness and Competitiveness of Institutions offering Islamic Financial Services; Islamic Capital Markets: Towards Greater Harmonisation in Cross Border Activities and the Way Forward for Islamic Finance: Strengthening Value Proposition, Sustaining Resilience.