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World Bank: MENA eyeing stronger relations with IDB

Global Arab Network - - John Short

Sunday, 06 September 2009 22:53

Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President, islamic Development Bank (IDB), and Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, World Bank Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), pledged to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions, in particular with respect to combating poverty, achieving food security and strengthening infrastructure, to support economic and social development in the region.

The Vice-President of the World Bank, who met with the President of IDB at the Bank's headquarters in Jeddah, in the presence of Vice-President of the Islamic Development Bank Mr. Mirama Boubacar Sidibe, expressed the World Bank's keenness to benefit from the experience of the Islamic Bank in the area of Islamic finance, as well as benefiting from the experiences of some Member States such as Saudi Arabia in the field of financing the infrastructure with Islamic products.

Dr. Shamshad also addressed in details the different areas of cooperation between the two institutions confirming that her talks with IDB officials has made it clear that there are many areas of joint cooperation, especially in the light of the experiences of the two institutions in financing of joint projects. She called for the promotion and coordination of assistance provided by the two institutions to promote economic stability in some countries such as Yemen. She also touched on the role of the two institutions in the provision of employment opportunities in the region through the support of the industry and infrastructure, as well as supporting small and medium enterprises, which provide more than (50%) of the job opportunities available in the world, and the expansion of microfinance, which is the majority of beneficiaries of , are women (70-80%).

For his part, President of the Islamic Development Bank welcomed the development and deepening of cooperation between the two institutions to serve the interests of the peoples of the region, stressing that the IDB would do all in its power to bring about such cooperation.

He called for further joined efforts to support the Palestinian people, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip, as well as providing the necessary support for Iraq and Somalia in order to overcome economic difficulties and speed up the wheels of economic and social development in these countries.

Global Arab Network

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