Shariyah Review Bureau (SRB), a leading shari’a advisory company, has signed a strategic partnership with Islamic Business and Finance Development Fund (IBFD Fund), a leading Russian organisation dedicated to the development of Islamic Finance, bilateral economic and business relationships between Russia and OIC countries, to become its official sharia advisory partner.

Under the agreement, IBFD Fund’s partnership will leverage SRB’s extensive shari’a consultation footprint and scholarly network to promote, upgrade and administer Russian financial establishments to set up sharia compliant funds and transactions, said a statement.

LinarYakupov, chief executive officer, IBFD Fund said: “Our partnership with SRB is a professional arrangement that supports our active commitment to collaborate with specialised bodies from around the world and nurture the growth of Islamic finance across the Russian financial industry.

“”The strategic partnership with SRB is a long term strategy to help promote Islamic financial products in Russia by supporting local business through consultation and fund structuring. Our selection of SRB was made due to their global track-record in Sharia Advisory Market.

“”Under the agreement, SRB will offer consultation to Russian banks and asset managers seeking to set-up Sharia compliant funds through IBFD Fund. This partnership will be particularly beneficial to Russian establishments with international requirements.”

Alongside the sharia advisory activities, the engagement will see SRB focus on developing and building its scholarly capabilities in the Russian language while IBFD Fund will add promotional service locations to its existing network as well as increasing their overall capabilities.

The partnership will also strengthen credibility between CIS and GCC countries in the domain of Islamic finance.

Yasser S Dahlawi, CEO at SRB, said: “We are witnessing tremendous growth in Islamic financial products between GCC and Asia with Europe picking up momentum over the last few years; and we certainly see a lot of growth potential in CIS hubs such as Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan financial hubs. We also expect Russia’s own economic development to benefit from the growth of Islamic finance infrastructural links.

“By partnering with IBFD Fund, we hope to provide Russian institutions expanded shari’a product structuring services in the region. The partnership will not only accelerate our pace towards achieving sharia advisory goal in the region but will also help us serve multinational corporations with international needs in these markets.”