Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Agency for the Development of the Capital Market is one of the first state bodies that began work on the introduction and popularization of securities based on the principles of Islamic finance ("Sukuk").

Along with this, on 16 July 2020, a Statement of Intent was signed between the Agency, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the UNDP Development Program (UNDP) on the introduction of Islamic finance as an alternative financial model to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Under this agreement, the IDB and UNDP supported the Agency’s initiative for the implementation of Sukuk, including its green component, by allocating grants in the amount of US$220,000 and US$100,000, respectively, which will be used to prepare the regulatory and legal bases for the issuance and circulation of varieties of "Sukuk" bonds in Uzbekistan.

The implementation of this instruction includes the following components:

• Preparation of the regulatory framework, as well as the procedure for regulating the issue and circulation of "Sukuk";

• Conducting an information campaign, providing wide coverage of the work being done;

• Capacity building by conducting trainings in the field of Islamic finance among ministries, departments, companies, educational institutions, as well as other stakeholders.

This work is the implementation of the tasks noted in the address of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, during which he emphasized that: “The time has come to create a legal framework for the introduction of Islamic financial services. The experts of the Islamic Development Bank and other international financial organizations will be involved in this”.