Jeddah, KSA – Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group says the Bank is in coordination with the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Turkey, all of them members of the G20, to incorporate the topic of “Islamic banking” in the agenda of the upcoming G20 summit, poised to take place in Antalya, Turkey, during November 2015 under Turkey’s chairmanship.

Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali stated this while speaking at the opening ceremony of the 5th Arab-Turkish Economic Dialogue Forum in Istanbul (5-6 March, 2015), graced by HE Dr. Ali Babacan, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and IDB Governor for Turkey. In the statement, the IDB Group Chairman praised the role Turkey played in organizing the Forum as well as its chairmanship of the G20/B20 in making the voices of Arab and Turkish investors heard paving the way for a constructive
role in achieving G20 aspirations towards balanced growth leading to creation of jobs and sustainable development.
He also welcomed cooperation between Turkey and the Group of Arab States in the framework of the various cooperation programs particularly for exchange of expertise and knowledge sharing amongst IDB member countries. He emphasized that this would facilitate building capacity for young people and provide appropriate job opportunities for the youth and help fight poverty while leading to the integration of low-income people into economy.

He further put forth a number of suggestions including the need for the Group of Arab States to benefit from the importance of Turkey as a strategic and resolute partner , to promote Arab-Turkish partnership and provide recommendations for this partnership in the context of Turkey’s Chairmanship of the G20/B20. Dr. Ali also proposed the launching of a joint working group to continuously work on developing an ambitious vision for Arab-Turkish cooperation until 2030 inclusive of all mutually
beneficial economic sectors. He underlined the need to come up with quick initiatives to plan commitments in the interest of mutual exchange of knowledge and expertise.

The IDB Group Chairman expressed the readiness of the Group to support the proposed joint working group comprising the Turkish Ministry of Development, the Union of Arab Banks Union and the Association of Turkish Banks.

During the conference, the Union of Arab Banks honored the IDB Group Chairman in recognition of his role in the service of Islamic banking over the past four decades.