12:09 - 25.11.2025

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November 25, Fineko/abc.az. It is known that the concept of Islamic banking has begun to spread rapidly in the last few years in the global financial sector. For example, Islamic banking is already widely used in many countries. Azerbaijan lags behind some Islamic countries in this area, and experts attribute this to the lack of a legal framework.

Commenting on the question for ABC.AZ, Ruslan Atakishiyev, the chairman of the Center for the Study of Economic Resources, PhD in Economics, said that work is currently underway in Azerbaijan to form a legal framework for Islamic banking.

According to Atakishiyev, from January 2017 to March 20, 2020, the Islamic Development Bank, together with the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, prepared a draft for the legal framework: "A project was implemented in Azerbaijan to form a legal framework for Islamic banking, for which the IDB allocated $200,000. At that, relevant work was carried out and proposals were put forward to update the legal framework and carry out certain reforms. Recently, starting from the middle of 2025, the Central Bank has been working on the formation of a legal framework for Islamic banking. It is expected that by the end of 2025, these documents will already be submitted to the leadership, and in 2026 to the parliament for adoption of documents related to the primary legislative framework. After that, we can say that the primary legal framework for Islamic banking will be formed."

By Elmir Murad