Jeddah, KSA, 13.05.2014 – The 297th meeting of the IDB Board of Executive Directors, chaired by IDB Group Chairman Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, praised the generous support accorded to the IDB Group by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and expressed profound appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for accepting to grace the IDB’s 40th Anniversary Celebration and patronize the 39th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors to be held in Jeddah during 24-26 June, 2014. The Board also took
note, with appreciation, of Saudi Arabia’s decision, last month, to increase the Kingdom’s contribution to IDB’s subscribed capital by US$ 11.8 billion in the context of the Bank’s fifth general capital increase.

The Board meeting cleared the final draft of the study on: “IDB Group at 40: Retrospective Assessment and 10-Year Strategic Framework”, which the Bank had prepared in collaboration with a specialized international consulting agency. The report is expected to be presented at the upcoming meeting of the IDB Board of Governors in Jeddah.

The Board meeting, which started on 11 May 2014 in Jeddah, approved US$ 670.9 million towards new financing for development projects that included several strategic projects in different sectors. The largest amount, US$ 312.8 million, went to the power generation sector - US$ 222 million for Egypt’s West Cairo Power Plant Project, and US$ 90.8 million for the Dakar Electricity Transmission Project in Senegal.
In the roads and transport sector, the Board approved US$ 110 million towards upgrading the Muyembe-Nakapiripirt Project in Uganda.

Amongst other financing were US$ 48 million for Bahrain’s Muharraq Pearling Heritage Conservation and Urban Economic Revival Project, US$ 44 million for Bangladesh’s Regional Submarine Telecommunications Project, and US$ 12.4 million for Mozambique’s Inland Aquaculture and Artisanal Fisheries Development Project.

In addition, the Board approved US$ 675,000 as grants under IDB’s Waqf fund for four educational and training projects in Muslim Communities in non-member countries namely, Bosnia, Cambodia, India and Thailand.
The Board further took note of the allocation of US$ 55 million approved by the IDB President for support to the Bilingual Education Project in Nigeria as well as US$ 12.5 million for each of seven West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo) in favor of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation projects.