Premier Craig Cannonier will be speaking at global economic summit next week as part of Government’s drive to promote Bermuda as an Islamic finance hub,

Mr Cannonier, along with Finance Minister Bob Richards, will be in London for the annual World Islamic Economic Forum. Representatives from wealthy member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council will also be attending.

Recent reports suggest that Islamic finance assets worldwide continue to grow, with an estimated value of $1.46 trillion in 2012. Bermuda has been pursuing that lucrative market for a number of years.

Premier Cannonier stressed that the importance of next week’s forum cannot be understated and viewed the occasion as “a critical opportunity to tell the Bermuda story”.

“The World Islamic Economic Forum is a very important and strategic opportunity for Bermuda,” he said.

“As the overwhelming majority of the countries in attendance will be Islamic, we will have a captive audience who will want to understand what Bermuda is about and what our offering is.

“This is an opportunity for us to tell Bermuda’s very compelling story and to leverage the ground work that was established by former Premier Paula Cox and her delegation at the World Islamic Economic Forum a few years ago. As always, our aim is to stimulate business investment and job opportunities for Bermudians.”

Other members on the panel range from the Sultan of Brunei, the King of Jordan, the President of Afghanistan, the President of Kosovo, the Prime Minister of Morocco, the Crown Prince of Bahrain and the Price of Dubai.

The Premier was already scheduled to be in London this weekend to take part in the Bermuda Government’s London Office Networking event. The World Islamic Economic Forum starts on Monday.