17.12.2013, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Inaugurating the High Level Regional Forum on IDB Group 40 years’ Performance and 10 Years Strategy, YBhg Tan Sri Mohd Husin Hanazdlah, Finance Minister II of the Government of Malaysia exhorted the IDB Group to continuously excel in improving benchmarks in order to effectively serve the numerous development needs of stakeholders around the world. He said that in its major role as a catalyst, it should enhance its developmental interventions, both in the
public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations and communities in general.

He said Malaysia has seen remarkable growth over the decades and he pointed out that IDB has been a major partner in charting the growth of his country. The Minister expressed Malaysia’s desire to share knowledge and experience in promoting the growth and wellbeing of the Ummah, and reaffirmed his country’s commitment to the IDB-Malaysia Partnership Strategy and work with other member countries and support their development through reverse linkages that mainly focus on sharing of knowledge and
experience amongst member countries. The Minister then announced the Malaysian Government’s decision to contribute space in KL’s International Financial Center for establishing an IDB Centre of Excellence.

Outlining the various aspects of the performance evaluation on the occasion of the 40 years anniversary and strategizing the future orientation for the next 10 years, Chairman of the IDB Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, stated that what counts in the life of an institution like the IDB is the difference it has made to the lives of millions of people both in member countries and Muslim communities in non-member countries, which will also determine the significance of the institution for the coming
decade. He stated that this is an occasion to take a fresh look at the IDB Vision 2020 that was formulated in 2005 as the global landscape has changed, and the demand from the member countries is not the same as it was eight years ago. It is in this respect that we have to reflect on the changing world today and recent developments and cater to the transformation agenda of our member countries.

In order to realize the strategic objectives in the coming decade, and to serve a variety of constituencies and clients globally, the Chairman of the IDB Group sought the advice of the stakeholders and civil society at the Forum on coping with the moral and political pressure while serving the poor; transforming the IDB into a hub for development solutions; making it the most trusted development partner; mainstreaming the Reverse Linkage model to optimize IDB’s global footprint; utilizing
Islamic banking towards escalating economic integration and a host of other areas in which the stakeholders and the civil society could make contributions.

The Regional Forum was attended by the Finance Ministers, IDB Governors, Central Bank Governors, and members from the civil society from Bangladesh, Maldives, Brunei, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Suriname. The Ministerial Forum and Plenary Sessions held during the day are expected to come out with reviews of the performance as well as ideas on its strategy towards facilitating IDB’s plans and programs for the next ten years.