Tokyo, Japan, 08.07.2012 – Addressing the “Tokyo International Conference for Development and Economic Stability of Afghanistan” on Sunday, 8 July 2012, the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali stressed that the IDB and its affiliated institutions, i.e. the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment & Export
Credit (ICIEC) will continue to support development efforts in Afghanistan with all possible resources.

The conference was attended by Afghan President, HE Hamid Karzai, Japanese Prime Minister HE Yoshihiko Noda and UN Secretary General HE Ban Ki-moon as well as senior delegates representing 70 nations and representatives from regional and international organizations.

Dr. Ali underlined that the IDB Group will continue cooperating with the Arab Coordination Group, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), and other institutions supporting development efforts in Afghanistan to bring development and reconstruction to the country. He further stated that the Conference represents a milestone denoting the commitment of the international community and the Afghan Government to achieve a better future, peace and
prosperity for the people of Afghanistan.

The IDB President emphasized the partnership between IDB and Afghanistan as a founding member of the Bank which has been providing support in various socio-economic fields. He also referred to the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Afghan Government and IDB which focuses on upgrading the transport and power link between north and south of the country as well as promoting its geographical status as a regional hub. “In the coming 3 years, the IDB will contribute up to US$ 80
million to support socio-economic development in Afghanistan”, Dr. Ali announced.

Since inception, the Islamic Development Bank Group has approved US$ 95 million to support development efforts in Afghanistan covering projects in transportation, power generation and agriculture. The figure includes around US$ 16 million dollars in the form of grants for health and educational projects as well as emergency relief aid.