The UAE Government has recognised the importance of the Islamic economic sector, driven by the increase in the global Muslim population that numbers approximately 1.6 billion.
Dubai was the first to establish Islamic banks worldwide with the opening of Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) back in the 1970s, in addition to having the Dubai Financial Market (DFM), which is the first global Shari'a compliant exchange.
According to the third edition of the Global Islamic Economy Indicator (GIEI), which measures the strength of the Islamic economy for 73 countries, across supply and demand drivers, governance, awareness and social considerations, the UAE was ranked second after Malaysia and took the first position in 5 sectors.
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