Jeddah, 6.10.2010 : IDB Group President, Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali is to attend the 26th Session of the OIC Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC), which kicks off in Istanbul, Turkey on 5th October and ends on 8th October 2010. The meeting will also be graced by H.E. Abdullah Gul the President of the Republic of Turkey. The high profile gathering which is also to be attended by economy and finance ministers of OIC member states on 7th October, 2010, aims to consolidate economic and commercial bonds amongst OIC member countries and to open the floor for discussions in a number of topics on socio-economic development as well as economic relations and cooperation amongst COMCEC members particularly in the field of agriculture and rural development. Furthermore, IDB Group President is expected to participate in the 14th International Business Forum (IBF) Congress which also organizes the 13th Independent Industrialists & Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) Fair from 6th to 10th October, 2010 under the patronage of H.E. Receb Teyyeb Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister.
In addition, the Association of National Development Finance Institutions in Member Countries of the Islamic Development Bank (ADFIMI) in its meeting on 6th October will confer its honorary membership to Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, the IDB Group president for his life-long contribution in the area of development banking and for almost four decades of experience in the Islamic Development Bank Group.
During the COMCEC meetings, the IDB will grant its annual prize for the promotion of intra-OIC trade for the year 2010 to the Saudi Export Promotion Center for its remarkable contribution to the elevation of intra-OIC trade ties. The prize, first offered in 2007, aims to recognize and support the contributions made with regard to the promotion of intra-OIC trade amongst OIC member countries and encouraging the achievements made by individuals in the field.
In the same vein, the IDB President Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali recently met a visiting Turkish parliamentary delegation which discussed ways to foster and strengthen IDB’s relations with the Republic of Turkey and COMCEC. During the meeting, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali thanked the Republic of Turkey for the support and assistance it has always rendered to the IDB Group and its member countries, particularly, the member countries in Africa and Central Asia. The Turkish Parliamentary Delegation also lauded IDB Group’s cooperation with the private sector of Turkey and called for enhancing of the exiting ties.