Jeddah, KSA– The Board of Executive Directors (BED) of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved the financing of projects worth US $ 189.4 million. The approval was given during the 302nd meeting of the Board, which took place between Sunday, 18 January, 2015, and Tuesday, 20 January, 2015 in Jeddah, KSA.
The projects approved by the members of the Board will cover a number of development projects in member countries as well as a number of Muslim communities in non-member countries.

Chaired by IDB President Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, the Board reviewed a number of important items amongst them the draft agenda for the upcoming 40th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors slated for 10-11 June 2015 in Maputo, Mozambique, which is to be attended by Ministers of Finance and Economy of the 56 member countries.

The road and transport sector received US $136 million of funding for contribution to construction of a 130 kilometer road in Cote d'Ivoire connecting the capital Yamoussoukro to the city of Tiebissou. It is part of the highway linking the port of Abidjan in the north of the country to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, all land-locked member countries of the IDB. The highway is part of a regional network promoted by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Also, the Board approved: US $22.3 million financing to support food security in Chad by contributing to management of natural resources; US $16.5 million financing to Djibouti to contribute to the Regional Submarine Telecommunications Project which connects Bangladesh, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy and France; and US $14 million to Burkina Faso to support the higher education sector in the country for phase II of the Expansion of Students’ Hostels for the University
of Bobo-Dioulasso Project.

Three grants totaling US $ 600,000 were also approved under the IDB Waqf Fund for projects focusing on education in Barbados, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

On the occasion of its 302nd meeting, the IDB Board of Executive Directors held a joint meeting with the boards of directors of the other entities of the IDB Group (the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit/ICIEC, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector/ICD, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation/ITFC and the Islamic Research and Training Institute/IRTI). The joint meeting discussed the implementation of the Group’s approved
strategic framework and the proposed strategic plan for the next 10 year in terms of objectives and available resources and in line with the aspirations of the member countries. The strategic framework was approved during the 39th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors in Jeddah, last year.