11.10.2011, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan received Dr. Ahmad Mohammed Ali, President, IDB Group (IDBG), at the presidential palace in Kabul.
During the meeting, the Afghan President praised the IDB Group for its efforts in supporting development of various economic sectors in war-torn Afghanistan and its involvement in the reconstruction drive as well as the social and economic support it has lent to Afghanistan. Dr. Ali, for his turn, underlined the importance the IDB Group attaches to providing support in the framework of existing cooperation aimed at materializing the aspirations of the Afghan people.
During his one day visit to Kabul, the IDB Group president also had a meeting with minister of finance and IDB Governor for Afghanistan, Mr. Omar Zakhilwal during which IDB Group projects and plans for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were presented in addition to ways for promotion of the Bank’s future development interventions to assist Afghanistan overcome economic challenges. An MOU was signed during the meeting with the objective of upgrading interactions in the area of economic development and social advancement as well as devising relevant mechanism for implementation. Under the MOU, the Bank will continue supporting priority areas in Afghanistan as well as paving the way for the country’s integration with IDB Group member countries.
The Group will extend its support to the Government of Afghanistan to promote Islamic Banking & Finance and leverage on other Member Countries expertise to provide capacity building to Afghanistan. The IDBG will also facilitate staff exchange activities including sending Afghani nationals to other member countries for acquiring knowledge and expertise.
IDBG will extend its cooperation with the Government to provide Afghanistan with access to international markets and to leverage Afghanistan’s strategic location to facilitate trade activities in the region, overcoming constraints faced by neighboring landlocked member countries.
Also, the Group will play a facilitating role in capacity development by utilizing expertise from other member countries thus enhancing the reverse linkages among member countries.
In coordination with the Government, IDBG will identify projects to be included in Three-Year Work Program (1433-1435H) of IDB taking into consideration the Government's development priorities and strategic vision of IDBG. The Mission from IDB will be visiting Afghanistan near future to firm up this Work Program.
The IDB Group President, meanwhile, invited Afghanistan to join other IDB Group institutions i.e., ITFC, ICIEC and ICD so that the country could utilize the economic and social facilities and expertise offered by other IDB institutions.