14.03.2012, Jeddah, KSA – Libyan Prime Minister Dr. Abdurrahim El-Keib and Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President, IDB Group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on furthering mutual cooperation between IDB Group and Libya during an official visit of the latter to Tripoli.

The MoU emphasizes cooperation in various sectors such as infrastructure, power generation, transportation, health, education, housing, etc. The MoU also seeks to mobilize the participation of all IDB Group entities namely; the ICD, ITFC, ICIEC, and IRTI, in the Libyan reconstruction drive.

Another MoU was signed between IDB and the Libyan Ministry of Economy on implementation of micro-finance projects for the unemployed Libyan youth in line with the Arab Youth Employment Support Program which allocates US$ 50 million for micro finance projects. The program is expected to provide more than 300,000 job opportunities in Libya during the first 5 years of its implementation. On similar grounds, the IDB Group shall grant a US$ 320,000 technical assistance to support establishing a
Credit Insurance Fund for employment in Libya. Meanwhile, ICD will engage with the Libyan national program for small and medium enterprises to establish a fund for SMEs.

During his trip, the IDB Group President also met with a number of Libyan ministers including minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and discussed a number of issues comprising cooperation between the IDB Group and Libya for promoting Islamic banking supporting SMEs, establishing industrial zones between Libya and neighboring countries like Tunisia and Egypt, awqaf, zakat, research and education in Islamic economics, etc.