The 5th Congress of the Islamic Economists Association (IAEI) was officially opened on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at Puri Agung Grand Sahid Jaya, Jakarta. With the theme “Strengthening Contributions Through Innovation and Synergy”, the Congress emphasized the importance of innovation in answering the multidimensional challenges faced by Islamic economics, such as low literacy, unoptimal regulations, limited human resources, and weak product competitiveness.
This event was attended by Muhammad Jusuf Kalla as Chairman of the IAEI Advisory Board, Sri Mulyani Indrawati as Chairperson of IAEI and Minister of Finance, both of whom gave remarks and directions to the ranks of the IAEI Central, Regional and Commissariat administrators throughout Indonesia, as well as academics, industry practitioners, and partners from various institutions.
The opening ceremony began with the submission of the Congress Report by the Secretary General of IAEI and continued with remarks and directions from the Chairman of the IAEI Advisory Board. In his remarks, he emphasized that Islamic economics must be able to grow along with the times. This growth, according to him, needs to be supported by basic principles such as honesty, transparency and responsibility as the main foundation for the realization of a sustainable Islamic economy.
The agenda continued with the Accountability Report Speech of the General Chairperson of IAEI for the 2019-2025 Period by Sri Mulyani Indrawati, after the Congress was opened by the Temporary Session Leader. In his presentation, he expressed his appreciation and outlined the achievements, challenges, and evaluation of the organization's performance over the past five years as a basis for preparing the upcoming strategic agenda.
The 2019-2025 period itself is a period full of challenges, ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic, global geopolitical dynamics, to the climate crisis. However, in the midst of these challenges, there are also various opportunities thanks to the increasingly adaptive organizational capabilities. In this context, IAEI plays a strategic role in responding to various issues by strengthening the Islamic economic ecosystem.
“Islamic economics has a great opportunity to answer the needs and interests of the community for sharia-based products and services. IAEI, in this case, plays an important role as a bridge through various program initiatives,” Sri Mulyani said.
She also reflected on her leadership period, “Of course there are still many shortcomings in its implementation. However, if everything is carried out with sincere intentions and in a good way, the results will be good. I hope the next period can continue and pass on the positive things that have been built.”
With the delivery of the speech, the IAEI leadership period 2019-2025 was officially declared demised.
