Search
Kazan, Russia, 14th May 2026 – INCEIF University, a global leader in Islamic finance education established by the Central Bank of Malaysia, has officially entered into a strategic partnership with the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today at the EXPO International Exhibition Center (IEC) during the prestigious Kazan Forum.
The ceremony was attended by key leadership from both institutions, including Prof. Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Mohd Azmi Omar, President & CEO of INCEIF University, and Rector Stanislav Y. Prokofiev of the Financial University. The collaboration marks a significant milestone in bridging the expertise of Malaysia—a global hub for Islamic finance for over 40 years with the emerging Islamic financial sector in Russia.
Beyond the formal signing, Prof. Azmi played a central role in the forum’s closing as a featured panellist in two high-level sessions:
- Session #1: “INCEIF as a Global Hub for Islamic Financial Education: Partnership Models with Universities and Industry,” moderated by Magomed Tashtamirov, Vice-Rector for Science & Innovation at Kadyrov Chechen State University.
- Session #2: “Islamic Finance in the Digital Age: Technologies Transforming the Industry,” held as part of the VII Russian Islamic Economic Forum, featuring Kamilla Keshtova, Senior Project Manager at Sberbank.
In his address during the post-event MoU, Prof. Azmi emphasised the three-pronged nature of the agreement, focusing on academic excellence, groundbreaking research, and professional capacity building:
“The collaboration that we signed today is in a couple of areas. One is in terms of academic programmes. Second is in terms of research collaboration. And third is in terms of executive education training. As you know, Russia has just started on Islamic finance. Malaysia started more than 40 years ago and is considered as one of the leaders. So, we are glad today we signed the MOU to collaborate and to support each other in enhancing and expanding Islamic finance in Russia, particularly for training of lecturers, students, as well as for executives.”
The partnership aims to create a robust ecosystem for Islamic finance in Russia by providing specialised training and knowledge transfer. Reflecting on his first visit to the region, Prof. Azmi also commended the local hosts, stating he was deeply impressed with the organisation of the Kazan Forum and the efforts of the people of Tatarstan in bringing global experts together.
