Abstract
This study examines the relationship between sukuk financing and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in selected Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Jordan, and Sudan. Using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with quarterly data from 2013Q4 to 2022Q3, we assess whether Islamic banks’ investment in sukuk contributes to SDG progress. The findings reveal a significant positive relationship in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where robust sukuk markets and national sustainability visions have facilitated alignment with SDG objectives. In contrast, sukuk investment in Oman and Jordan shows potential but remains statistically insignificant, likely due to limited sovereign sukuk issuance and the absence of national sustainability frameworks. Sudan’s sukuk market appears disconnected from SDG progress, reflecting structural economic and regulatory challenges. These results highlight the role of well-developed sukuk markets in driving sustainable finance and underscore the need for policy interventions to integrate Islamic financial instruments into national SDG strategies.
Keywords: Sukuk investment, Islamic banking, Sustainable Development Goals, ARDL approach, sustainable finance
Camelia Garchi
Camelia is currently doing her PhD in Islamic Economics and Finance at Ez-zitouna University, Tunisia. She is concurrently doing a Diploma in Moral Economy and Sustainable Development at the Al-Maktoum College of Higher Education, UK.
Is a research in Islamic fintech, Microfinance and Shariah governance standards has led to direct applications in the Islamic Finance industry. Since 2019, she has presented research papers annually at industry conferences, her most recent being on Sukuk investment and the SDGs.