A Bahrain-based specialist fund which supports education and training in Islamic finance is preparing for a new round of expansion.

The Waqf Fund was established last year with an initial capital of $4.6 million by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), in partnership with several Islamic financial institutions (IFIs).

The new work programme includes public awareness programmes, roundtable discussions and Sharia programmes, in addition to financing professional and academic studies of individuals working in the Islamic finance industry.

The new action plan for the Waqf Fund was discussed and approved at a meeting of the fund's board of trustees and was chaired by chief of the Waqf Fund and executive director in banking supervision at the CBB Khalid Hamad.

"The board discussed the enhancement of co-operation with the Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance, the fund administrator," Hamad said.

"It was decided that the fund should take a more proactive role in developing Islamic finance training and education programmes offered by BIBF's Islamic Finance Studies Learning Centre." TradeArabia News Service