Jeddah, 29.04.2015 : The Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, has emphatically denied Bloomberg’s indication on its website that the Bank has demanded the Arab Republic of Egypt to pay its overdue debt before IDB could finance further projects.

The Chairman of the IDB Group stressed that Bloomberg’s allegation was not founded on truth or realities on the ground since there was no existing issues of overdues with Egypt which in fact has one of the best portfolios and records of repayment with the IDB Group. He underlined the fact that Egypt owes no arrear payment.

The IDB Group Chairman went on to refer to a statement that the IDB Group issued at the Sharm el-Sheikh Conference in March on its strong support for Egypt’s economy. That statement had mentioned the six agreements for US$ 3.875 billion that the IDB Group signed with Egypt, reflecting the extremely good ties between Egypt, a founding member country, and the IDB Group.

The Chairman further stated that Egypt is one of the major recipients of the Group’s financing and is at the top of the list in terms of volume of the Group’s overall financing, which stands at US $12.2 billion.

He also indicated that a partnership strategy between Egypt and the IDB Group is ready for signature, which would boost the Group’s involvement in key sectors of the Egyptian economy, particularly in infrastructure (specifically energy and transport) as well as other sectors like youth employment, job creation and utilizing Egypt’s expertise for the benefit of other member countries of the IDB Group, especially the least developed countries.

An agreement to open an IDB Group Gateway Office in Cairo aimed at greater cooperation with Egypt is also expected to be signed soon.