Indonesia and Iran are exploring potential cooperation across priority sectors such as academia and research to facilitate greater collaboration and exchange of expertise. 

Brian Yuliarto, Indonesian minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology, expressed the country’s willingness for strategic education cooperation with Iran, Antara news agency reported. 

"We are happy to welcome Iranian professors as guest lecturers in Indonesian universities to enhance science and technology cooperation between Iran and Indonesia," said Yuliarto. 

Both nations are also exploring collaboration potential to develop science techno parks to support research optimisation. Discussions to cooperate in research downstreaming and business incubator development in strategic sectors, such as energy and aerospace, were also held. 

Meanwhile, the Iranian side reaffirmed their readiness to strengthen research and academic cooperation with Indonesia, especially on the science and technology parks development.

The two parties expect the cooperation to be formalised through a memorandum of understanding between the higher education ministries.

Both countries also signed a joint plan of action last week to deepen bilateral cooperation in developing their halal product ecosystems, with a primary focus on halal food and safety standards. 

"The step is part of BPJPH's strategy to expand international halal recognition and cooperation, opening greater opportunities for Indonesian products on a global scale and strengthening Indonesia's position as the epicenter of halal products," Ahmad Haikal Hassan, Indonesia's Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) said.

Iran's Ambassador Mohammad Boroujerdi expressed confidence that the action plan will elevate product quality and strengthen mutual food security.

The United Arab Emirates and Greece have announced 18 agreements and commercial partnerships worth €12.75 billion ($14.3 billion), alongside plans for an additional €15 billion in UAE investment to strengthen economic cooperation across technology, energy, infrastructure and other sectors.

The agreements were announced during the UAE-Greece Strategic Forum in Athens and cover digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, logistics, transport, healthcare and food security. The proposed additional investment will be channelled through a bilateral investment initiative established in 2022.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, said the two countries' economic relations are built on shared interests and mutual trust. He highlighted the role of businesses in expanding bilateral investment, adopting advanced technologies and developing projects in sectors with growth potential.

The UAE-Greece investment initiative was established in May 2022 with an initial commitment of €4 billion to support joint investments in priority industries. Since its launch, the framework has facilitated transactions in energy and healthcare.

The planned €15 billion allocation is intended to expand investment activity under the existing framework, drawing on institutional capital from both countries and Greece’s position as a commercial link between Europe and other international markets.

The latest agreements also extend cooperation into sectors such as clean energy infrastructure, industrial development, ports and life sciences, reflecting efforts by both countries to diversify their economic partnerships.

The announcement follows similar investment commitments by the UAE in other international markets. The country recently outlined plans to invest an additional $25 billion in India, with discussions focused on strengthening supply chains and expanding opportunities under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

The UAE has also announced plans for €40 billion in investment in Germany as part of a broader strategic dialogue covering trade, defence, energy and technology.

The agreements were announced on October 22, 2026. Official UAE statements confirmed the €12.75 billion deal value and the additional €15 billion investment intention, although the individual projects to be funded under the new allocation have not yet been disclosed. 

Uzbekistan’s Central Bank has granted Open Bank the country’s first Islamic banking licence, allowing the lender to offer Shariah-compliant financial services as part of efforts to develop the country’s Islamic finance sector.

The licence was approved on October 23 and announced by the regulator on October 26, following the introduction of legislation earlier this year establishing a legal framework for Islamic banking. Open Bank is authorised to conduct Islamic banking operations under Article 5¹ of the country’s Law on Banks and Banking Activities.

The decision marks the extension of Islamic financial services into Uzbekistan’s commercial banking sector. Previously, such services were available through microfinance organisations permitted to offer products based on Islamic financing principles.

Open Bank was registered with the Central Bank in late 2022. As of October 26, its authorised capital stood at UZS 500 billion ($42.2 million), with Future Open Technology Group listed as its shareholder.

Uzbekistan adopted Islamic banking legislation in June 2026 as part of efforts to attract investment and expand the range of financial services available in the country.

The Central Bank is also developing additional regulations governing Islamic financing structures, including murabaha, which involves the sale of assets at an agreed profit margin, and mudaraba, a partnership in which one party provides capital while another manages the investment.

By early August, the regulator had amended 15 regulatory documents covering licensing, risk management and other requirements for Islamic banking operations.

Microfinance institutions in Uzbekistan are already authorised to provide five types of Islamic financing: murabaha, ijara, salam, mudaraba and musharaka.

Open Bank has not yet announced when it will begin offering Islamic banking products to customers.

The Central Bank has advised customers to check the licensing status of financial institutions through its official website before using their services.

Global Islamic finance assets are expected to cross $10.5 trillion by 2030, amid supporting regulatory reforms and a growing demand for Sharia-compliant digital and sustainable financial solutions, a new study has said. 

The Islamic finance industry is expected to be supported by “continued expansion in Islamic banking, increasing sukuk issuance and stronger adoption of Islamic finance in emerging markets”, the 2026 edition of the Islamic Finance Development Report revealed. 

The industry has continued to record sustained momentum in recent years, with total assets increasing 9% year on year to reach $6.5 trillion in 2025. Islamic banking remained the dominant component, accounting for $4.6 trillion or 71% of global Islamic finance assets, followed by sukuk with 18% and Islamic funds with 6%. The remaining share was split between the other Islamic financial institutions (OIFI) and takaful sectors. 

Islamic finance assets remain heavily concentrated across the Gulf and MENA markets, exceeding $2 trillion in value. Southeast Asian assets surpassed the $1 trillion mark in 2025. 

The report, co-produced by the London Stock Exchange Group and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, used five criteria to evaluate Islamic finance development across 140 countries - financial performance, governance, sustainability, knowledge, and awareness. 

Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Indonesia and Pakistan have retained their positions as the world’s most developed Islamic finance markets. Outside of the top five, countries including Türkiye, Tanzania, Kenya, Benin, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan, secured notable gains reflecting the increasing significance of established and emerging markets. 

From launching the first modern commercial Islamic bank in 1975 to recording $6.5 trillion assets in 2025, Islamic finance has come a long way and continues its trajectory, amid expanding ecosystems, regulatory advancements and rising consumer uptake of Shariah-compliant financial products. It is expected to record an average annual growth rate of around 9% over the next five years to cross reach $10.5 trillion by close of the current century. 
 

Pakistan and Maldives have pledged to significantly expand bilateral trade to strengthen long-standing relations and support national development priorities.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met with the President of the Maldives, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu as part of a state visit on Wednesday.

The trip marks the first state visit by a Maldivian President in 11 years and coincides with six decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

The two leaders committed to increase bilateral trade to $200 million within two years, from about $13.4 million, a nearly 15-fold increase as both countries agreed to expand bilateral trade, investments, tourism, food security, pharmaceuticals and private-sector partnerships.

Both leaders also emphasized the importance of improving air and maritime connectivity, according to a statement issued by Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. 

Bilateral trade is heavily one-sided with Pakistan's exports accounting for almost all recorded bilateral goods trade.

The two countries signed 20 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering priority sectors, including health, education, technical training, tourism, civil aviation, agriculture, fisheries, defence, maritime security, law enforcement, civil service cooperation, social protection, culture, and youth, among others. 

The Pakistani premier reiterated the country’s readiness to provide essential food commodities and pharmaceuticals to Maldives, including through government-to-government arrangements. He also announced 20 additional undergraduate scholarships, annually, for Maldivian students.

Indonesia has pushed back the deadline for mandatory halal certification by two years, giving businesses until October 2028 to comply. The government cited the readiness of the country’s halal ecosystem as the reason for the extension.

The deferral, formalised through Articles 160 and 161 of Government Regulation No. 42/2024, covers a broad range of product categories including food and beverages, animal-derived products, traditional medicines, health supplements, cosmetics, chemical products, genetically engineered products and consumer goods. Micro, small and foreign enterprises producing food, beverages and slaughter-derived products are also among those granted the extended timeline.

“Taking into account the readiness of Indonesia’s halal ecosystem, the Government has extended the phased implementation of mandatory halal certification through amendments to Government Regulation No. 42 of 2024,” said Susiwijono Moegiarso, Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, at a public dissemination session on October 16.

The policy also includes the revocation of a 2026 regulation on inspections of imported halal products, alongside a broader review of Government Regulation No. 42/2024 and related legislation. Further details are expected in forthcoming official regulations.

Muti Arintawati, President Director of LPPOM — Indonesia’s halal inspection agency — welcomed the extension but cautioned businesses against treating it as grounds for inaction. “For businesses, this deadline adjustment provides extra time to prepare for halal certification. However, it is equally important to ensure they obtain accurate information regarding the affected product categories, requirements and the certification process itself,” she said, adding that LPPOM stands ready to guide businesses through the inspection stages under the revised rules.

Muti said halal certification should be seen as more than a regulatory formality. A certificate, she argued, adds commercial value while fulfilling a business’s responsibility to Muslim consumers.

LPPOM operates across 34 provinces in Indonesia, supporting halal inspections through a network of auditors and laboratory testing facilities. The extension announcement was attended by representatives from the Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency (BPJPH), the Ministry of State Secretariat, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, industry associations and other stakeholders.

The UAE’s real gross domestic product fell 2.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2026 to AED476.9 billion ($130 billion), as disruptions linked to the regional conflict weighed on tourism, transport and trade, according to preliminary estimates from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC).

Non-oil activities contracted by 1.1% in the quarter ended June 30, though they continued to account for a growing share of the economy, rising to 79.2% of real GDP in the first half of 2026, up from 78.1% a year earlier. Oil activities made up the remaining 20.8%, down from approximately 23% in the same period of 2025.

For the first half of 2026 as a whole, real GDP reached AED961.9 billion at constant prices, a modest increase of 0.4% on the same period in 2025, supported by non-oil GDP growth of 1.8%. The FCSC said the results reflect continued diversification of the UAE’s economic base, with non-oil sectors driving the bulk of activity.

Among major sectors, financial and insurance activities recorded the strongest growth in the first half, expanding 14.8%, followed by information and communications at 7.3%, health and social work at 6%, construction at 5.1%, government services at 3.6% and real estate at 2.3%. By contribution to non-oil GDP, trade ranked first at 16.2%, followed by financial and insurance activities at 15.2%, construction at 13.1%, manufacturing at 11.8% and real estate at 7.9%.

The second-quarter contraction reflects pressure that has built since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in late February, which was followed by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and widespread disruption to regional travel and commercial activity. Oil prices have remained around $100 per barrel despite some recovery in Gulf flows, reflecting ongoing shipping risks and elevated transport costs.

The FCSC noted that the first-half and second-quarter figures are preliminary estimates. A comprehensive revision of the UAE’s national GDP time series is under way and the updated figures are expected to be released in the first quarter of 2027.