The World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF)
Forums, think tanks & standards · The “Davos of the Muslim world”
The World Islamic Economic Forum is an annual business gathering — often called the “Davos of the Muslim world” — that brings together entrepreneurs, financiers and leaders from Muslim and non-Muslim economies alike.
At a glance
| Foundation based | Malaysia |
|---|---|
| First forum | 2005 (grew from the OIC Business Forum, 2003) |
| Format | annual global business platform |
| Nickname | the “Davos of the Muslim world” |
The forum grew out of an OIC Business Forum first held in 2003, and became a standalone event in 2005 under a foundation based in Malaysia. Rather than a policy body, it is a platform for business: a stage for deal-making, investment promotion and dialogue on trade, finance, halal industries, the digital economy and small enterprise, held in a different host city each year and open to participants from beyond the Muslim world.
By convening business rather than governments, the WIEF has sought to translate the idea of Muslim-world economic cooperation into concrete commercial links, and to position Malaysia — a hub of Islamic finance — at the centre of that effort. Its deliberately outward-looking format, engaging Western and East Asian economies, distinguishes it from the more inward, member-only bodies of the OIC.
The forum sits alongside COMCEC and the D-8 among the institutions that pursue the economic integration of the Muslim world, differing in that it works through the private sector and international partnership.
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