President of the Islamic Development Bank Group welcomed the visiting Ivory Coast’s minister of planning and development and IDB Governor Abdullah Toikeusse Mabri and his entourage at IDB headquarters in Jeddah. The minister, in the meeting, touched upon efforts underway in his country for boosting reconstruction and repatriation of immigrants enumerating a series of technical assistance programs or humanitarian projects in whose social economic development the IDB Group can play a major role thanks to its relevant expertise in the field. Mr. Toikeusse Mbari further expressed the Ivory Coast’s willingness to cooperate with different IDB Group institutions stating that his respective government seeks technical assistance from the Islamic Development Bank Group in establishment of Sharia’a compliant financial institutions. He then extended an invitation to the IDB Group President to attend an OIC sponsored international conference in Abidjan, January 2012, on Ivory Coast’s reconstruction.
Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President, IDB Group, at the meeting expressed the Group’s readiness to cooperate with Ivory Coast to see this IDB member country leave behind the present economic crisis. “The IDB Group is always there to cooperate with this IDB member country and continues to support and follow up different projects it has initiated in different sectors for the welfare of Ivory Coast’s people”, stated Dr. Ali.
Ivory Coast is currently being covered by the SPDA (Special Program for Development of Africa), and exemplary program exercised by the Islamic development Bank benefiting all IDB’s African member countries. The IDB Group has so far dedicated nearly US$ 358 million for financing of development projects in the Ivory Coast’s transport, agriculture and irrigation networks.