Hawzah News Agency - (Istanbul - Turkey) - Turkey's first institute on Islamic economy and finance aims to conduct international academic studies from Turkey's economic hub of Istanbul.

The Marmara University Institute of Islamic Economics And Finance (MUISEF) will expand its studies with further academic research on issues including sector-wise product diversification and participation banking, Erol Özvar, president of the Istanbul-based university, told Anadolu Agency.

In an interview, Özvar said the interest in Islamic economics and finance studies has become increasingly popular over the last 20 years, not only in Turkey but also in a broad range of countries from Japan to the U.S.

There are a number of centers in various universities on Islamic economics and finance, but MUISEF of Marmara University is the first of its kind in Turkey in terms of being an academic institute, Özvar stressed.

Özvar added that the institute was established under a joint protocol with the Finance Office of the Turkish Presidency.

"We will provide training on Islamic economy and finance for graduate and doctoral students coming from different disciplines," he said, stressing that the institute was conceived as a scientific establishment open to the world.