The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) minister of economy and foreign trade on Monday urged stronger economic ties among Islamic countries to further boost business across the world.
"There are 1.7 billion Muslims living worldwide and the economies of the 57 Islamic states grow at an average of 5 percent per year," Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori said at the Global Islamic Economy Summit (GIES) 2015.
Earlier in the day, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum inaugurated the two-day GIES, which has been organised by the Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), Xinhua news agency reported.
According to a DIEDC report released at the forum, the overall size of the Islamic economy worldwide is $1.81 trillion.
It is poised to grow to $2.58 trillion by 2020, the report added.
