Addressing a roundtable in Malaysia on the priority of development and the challenges, President Erdoğan said: "Trade in national currencies has gained urgency amid talks of trade wars. We should first of all put the issue of Islamic finance on our agenda."

"It makes our financial markets fragile against shocks and manipulations that we don’t have our own payment systems"

Stating that the problems and troubles faced by the Muslims were addressed during the Kuala Lumpur Summit, Erdoğan said that the ideas voiced by the summit’s participants converged in general.

Recalling his long-stranding call about the need to save the bilateral trade from the pressure of foreign exchange, Erdoğan emphasized the importance of using national currencies instead of foreign ones in commercial transactions. 

"It makes our financial markets fragile against shocks and manipulations that we don’t have our own payment systems," said the President, pointing to the ongoing precautionary efforts of Turkey’s to develop alternative payment systems with such countries as Russia, China and Brazil.

President Erdoğan stated: "Trade in national currencies has gained urgency amid talks of trade wars. We stand ready to cooperate with you on this issue, about which we have achieved significant outcomes. We should first of all put the issue of Islamic finance as well on our agenda."

"Technology and innovation are two areas that should be focused on"

Expressing his belief that there is an enormous potential among the participating countries of the summit in the area of interest-free finance, President Erdoğan said: "We can establish a working group composed of our financial experts in order to give shape to all this. We can thus pave the way for a more comprehensive and detailed roadmap."  

Describing technology and innovation as two areas that should be meticulously focused on, President Erdoğan further stressed: "It is evident that every investment made in technology returns in the form of a strong and competitive growth with high added value."

"We can enhance the cooperation among our universities"

Also touching upon the young and dynamic populations of the Islamic countries, President Erdoğan stated that serious setbacks, however, are being experienced in education, which would actually unleash that social potential. 

President Erdoğan continued: "We can enhance the cooperation among our universities and increase the number of exchange programs for students and academics. We can encourage our think-tanks to cooperate more. We can carry out joint works especially for girls’ education." (ILKHA)