The inaugural lecture was given by Dr Abbas Mirakhor on 3 April 2004 in London on the Instrumentalisation of Islamic Financial Institutions to Alleviate Poverty in Muslim Countries
Dr Mirakhor was then Executive Director - International Monetary Fund, and is the co-author of many papers and books on Islamic finance. He received the Islamic Development Bank's (IDB) 2003 prize in Islamic economics together with Dr. Mohsin Khan, Director of the IMF Institute.