London, United Kingdom, 4 February 2016 – The President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, says in the next three years, 2016-2018, the Group will increase its financing to US $9 billion to support development efforts in countries hosting Syrian refugees, as well as the countries afflicted by the ongoing developments in the region.

Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, made the announcement on Thursday at an international donor’s conference in London. The one-day conference, “Supporting Syria and the Region”, was co-hosted by the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations. It was opened by British Prime Minister David Cameron in the presence of Emir of the State of Kuwait His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah. The high profile event focused on mobilizing fresh resources to meet the increasing human and
development needs of the countries directly involved in assisting the Syrian refugees.

“This will include funding such sectors as education, health, water supplies, urban services, trade, supporting the private sector as well as creating job opportunities and capacity building in those countries”, stated Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali.

The IDB Group President further stressed IDB Group’s readiness to step up efforts and cooperation with the international community, international development agencies, and the Arab Coordination Group by co-financing joint projects to meet the pressing requirements of the concerned states. Dr. Ali added that such effort will contribute to improvement of the living conditions of the refugees and restoring the hope of millions of people for a better tomorrow.

The IDB Group President invited the participants at the Conference to support the funding initiative led by the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the United Nations to mobilize new resources for the regional countries that are dealing with the influx of millions of refugees from war-torn Syria.

The participants also discussed ways and means to support and develop initiatives to meet the needs of the Syrian refugees which would lead to the improvement of their daily living conditions.

Since the start of the current crisis in Syria in mid-March 2011, the IDB Group, in coordination with several charitable institutions, has been streamlining grants and immediate aid for the refugees. This has mainly comprised health and education sectors, including printing textbooks and support for extra-curricular education, in addition to other projects enabling millions of refugees and displaced people to access necessary education to build the future generation.