30.06.2011 : The 36th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank ended in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. At the closing ceremony the Governors endorsed allocation of 5% of the Bank’s expected net income for the current year (2011) to financing technical assistance grants
Details:The 36th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank ended in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday. At the closing ceremony the Governors endorsed the allocation of 5% (not less than US$ 5 million) of the Bank’s expected net income for the current year 2011 to financing technical assistance grants for the year 2012 while at the same time earmarking 2% of the Bank’s expected net income (not less than US$ 2 million) for the current year 2011 to granting scholarships for the year 2012. The Governors also declared that the 37th and 38th Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors would be held in the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of Yemen respectively. The Governors also elected from among nine groups, nine members to the new Board of Executive Directors which will commence work for a period of three years starting 19 November 2011. These members are from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Kazhakhstan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Oman, Palestine and Tunisia. The Kingdom of Oman, Palestine, Kazakhstan, the Ivory Coast, Malaysia and Mozambique The Board of Executive Directors of the IDB comprises 18 members, half of them are nominated and directly mandated by the member countries holding the largest contribution to the share capital of the Bank, viz., Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE. The 36th Annual Meeting of the IDB Governors was the scene of many high profile events, amongst them, the 26th symposium on tackling the issue of unemployment in IDB member countries in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. During the event, the participants underlined the need and significance of making comprehensive decisions to promote educational systems in IDB member countries in line with market demands as well as implementing the education for employment programs between the IDB Group and the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank. The symposium further underscored increasing the level of infrastructure investment for supporting Small and Medium Enterprises together with professional training programs in member countries. The event was attended by the the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the IDB Group President, Labor Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other Ministers from Jordan, Tunisia, Malaysia, Uganda and Professor Jeffry Sachs, University of Columbia. On the sidelines of this event, a number of other important meetings were held including; the 4th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) which deals with poverty reduction and creating jobs in IDB member countries; the 6th General Assembly of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) and the 18th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credit (ICIEC) which accepted the Republic of Comoros as its 40th member country while approving capital increase from ID 150 million to ID 400 million. The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) held its 11th General Assembly which approved the Corporation’s intervention in new sectors such as agriculture and expanding support for industries to cover a large number of its member countries. The meeting of the supreme council for the Al Aqsa and Al Quds funds of the Islamic Development Bank urged the contributing countries to upgrade their contributions and a faster payment of commitments. Since establishment, the two funds have allocated almost US$ 780 million on different projects including construction and reconstruction of tens of thousands of houses, roads, schools, water and electricity networks, hospitals, agricultural farmlands, etc. in the Palestinian territories. HE Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, IDB Group President, meanwhile, underlined at the Closing Session the importance of the decisions of the Annual Meeting expressing hope that they will greatly promote the ongoing cooperation amongst the IDB member countries to the best interests and wishes of the Islamic Ummah. The IDB Board of Governors also extended their utmost appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince and the Government and People of the Kingdom of Saudi of Saudi Arabia for the kind hospitality and excellent arrangements provided during Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group.