The round table on the issues of amending the tax legislation of Ukraine in order to introduce Islamic finance was held in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in terms of the Second Annual Ukrainian-Arabic Business Conference "Investment Opportunities in Ukraine", which took place from 14th to 16th October 2009 in Kyiv.

This round table was initiated by the Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which was represented by Mr. Kostyantyn Bondarev, the Deputy Chairman of this Committee.

In his speech, Mr. Kostyantyn Bondarev has commented on the interest in Islamic finance in the following way: "Ukraine, in the first place, is a multi-ethnical country, where live, according to various estimates, from 1.2 to 2 millions of Muslims. We support democracy and want to ensure equal rights in the market for everyone, because, now, Muslims don't have an opportunity to fully follow the requirements of Islam in their financial activities.

Mr. Allen Merhej (representative of the Norton Rose law firm) and Sheikh Haytham Tamim (scholar and expert in the Shariah and Islamic Finance) shared their experience with the round table participants. Such honorable guests arrived to take part in the roundtable at the invitation of Mr. Kostyantyn Bondarev. In their speeches, they presented a system of Islamic financial instruments and experience of the United Kingdom on the way of amending the legislation in order to remove all obstacles for their functioning.

The roundtable was also attended by the UDC Holding representatives, because the company has a particular experience in Islamic finance. Some projects of the company have been certified for compliance with the requirements of Islamic finance, this fact in turn promotes greater participation of investors, including from the Arab world, in these projects.

In a situation of economic crisis, Islamic finance demonstrated its stability, because it was less exposed to negative consequences. Among the pioneers in the introduction of Islamic finance can be stated Luxembourg. France and the United Kingdom also have done certain steps in this direction. Britain, as a result of active partnership with the Arab world, has created for London an image of the Islamic finance center in Europe.