Manama: The Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF), region’s premier training and development provider, announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind initiative in the region in collaboration with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries of the United Kingdom (IFoA) to launch an actuarial capacity-building programme, supported by the Central Bank of Bahrain and Tamkeen Labour Fund.

This came on the sidelines of the visit of a delegation from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, headed by the President-elect Ms. Kalpana Shah, to the BIBF, where they discussed areas of mutual cooperation in raising the standards and talents of the actuarial profession in the Middle East, through the accreditation provided by the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

On this occasion, Director of the BIBF, Dr. Ahmed Al-Shaikh, stressed on the importance of this partnership in building local talents in the field of actuarial science, and their role in the comprehensive development process of various economic sectors due to the significance of this sector in developing the industry.

Dr. Al Shaikh also noted that this collaboration comes in line with the directives of the Central Bank of Bahrain for insurance firms to establish an internal actuarial unit within their organisation structure and appoint a Bahraini competencies as actuarial experts to work within insurance companies.

On her part, the President-elect of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Ms. Kalpana Shah, expressed her sincere thanks to the BIBF, stating that this partnership constitutes an important step in the qualification of actuaries in the region, noting that she is looking forward to further cooperation to achieve the mutual goals.

Ms. Shah emphasised the importance of the role played by actuaries in various economic and business sectors through their skills and expertise, noting that the collaboration with the BIBF will help ensure that those who want to acquire such skills and raise standards in the profession can have the right opportunity.

Ms. Shah also praised the role played by the BIBF in the training and development of banking and financial capabilities in the Kingdom and beyond, as well as its reliability on a local and global level.

On his part, Executive Director of Programmes & Partnership Development at Tamkeen, Mr. Ali Hasan stated, “This partnership comes in line with our commitment to supporting initiatives that contribute to increasing the participation of local cadres in the economic landscape, especially in promising sectors, by providing them with the required qualifications that enhance their access to high-value jobs in leading institutions.”

Also, as part of the visit, a delegation from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries visited the College of Science at the University of Bahrain, as a way of cooperation to strengthen the Bachelor of Actuarial Sciences programme in the Department of Mathematics at the College, and to discuss the possibility to grant accreditation to the programme.

After the signing ceremony, the BIBF held formal meetings between IFoA delegation, CEOs, and insurance executives to emphasize the importance of the initiative and the support of the employers to the actuaries.

The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries visit to Bahrain was concluded with a masterclass entitled "Working Together to Develop the Actuarial Profession", which was held at the BIBF, and attended by members of actuarial associations and executives of insurance companies, in addition to candidates who are interested in the actuarial profession.

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