Washington DC - The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), an entity of the Islamic Development Bank Group, and the government of Senegal have signed a Sukuk (Islamic bonds) agreement which is the first of its kind in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The signing of the agreement took place in Washington DC during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meeting.

Mr. Khalid Al-Aboodi, the CEO of ICD, represented the Corporation, while Mr. Amadou Ba, the Finance Minister of Senegal represented the government of Senegal. The Sukuk agreement worth US $200 million is expected to be implemented from as of 2014. “We hope this Sukuk will serve the purpose of the government and the people of Senegal. We are grateful for the trust bestowed by the government of Senegal on ICD”, said Mr. Al-Aboodi. “ “We will do our best to see that it is successful, and we hope
this will open the door for other African countries to sign more Sukuk agreements”, Mr Al-Aboodi told the delegation from the Islamic Development Bank Group and the Government of Senegal.

In his response, the Senegalese Finance Minister, Mr. Amadou Ba, expressed his appreciation to the ICD, and suggested that the President of Senegal, Mr. Macky Sall strongly supports this initiative. In fact, he has initiated legislative reforms to accommodate the products of Islamic finance. Mr. Amadou Ba stated that the government of Senegal is grateful for the cooperation with IDB, and reiterated the interest of President Macky Sall for stronger relationship with the Islamic World.