Istanbul, Turkey, 11.10.2012 –Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated in Istanbul on Wednesday, the 28th session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC). In his speech, he emphasized the need for developing economic cooperation amongst member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and praised the role played by the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), urging member
countries to fulfill their commitments to ISFD enabling it to actively contribute to combatting poverty.
The Secretary General of the OIC, Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, as well as representatives of Arab, Asian and African countries addressed the meeting reviewing the challenges facing the Ummah and the way ahead.
Also taking the floor in the opening session, the President of the IDB Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, commended the continuous support of the Republic of Turkey to the IDB Group and its vital role in extending expertise and know-how for supporting the development process in IDB member countries. Dr. Ali referred to the global economic challenges, their impact on member countries, and emphasized that the IDB Group is addressing these challenges by increasing its development financing which
registered US$ 8.3 billion during 2012. He stated that the Bank Group’s cumulative financing since establishment reached around US$ 85 billion. He illustrated the various initiatives of the IDB Group aimed at advancing economic development in member countries including the efforts by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) to materialize the 20% intra-trade objective set by the OIC for the year 2015.
The IDB Group President endorsed Turkish Prime Minister’s call on member countries to support the ISFD, which is also recommended by COMCEC experts. While shedding light on the IDB Group’s cooperation with institutions such as UNICEF, WHO, etc., for mobilizing resources for eradicating diseases, he referred to the recent agreement between the IDB Group and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that was announced a few days earlier in Jeddah (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) on the occasion of Mr.
Gates visit to IDB headquarters. The agreement envisages a new partnership for combatting communicable diseases such as Polio and Malaria as well as achieving food security and providing job opportunities.