The Islamic Development Bank’s Board of Governors closed its 35th Annual Meeting, held in Baku, the Republic of Azerbaijan, on 11-12 Rajab 1431 H. (23-24/6/2010, by issuing various important resolutions, among which are the increase of IDB's subscribed capital, from its current level of 16 billion Islamic Dinar to 18 billion Islamic Dinar, and the approval of the increase in the subscription of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the IDB capital to reach ID 1.384 billion ( the Islamic Dinar (ID) equals one unit of the IMF Special Drawing Rights). Following that increase, Nigeria now has the right to appoint a permanent Executive Director representing it in the Board of Executive Directors subject to paying the first share of the announced subscription in IDB capital. This will immediately result in the increase of the number of Executive Directors from 16 to 18; of which, 9 are appointed, representing the nine countries with the largest shares, and 9 are elected by virtue of the decision taken by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors also decided to devote the equivalent of 5% of the Bank’s net income expected for the current fiscal year 1431H (2010) to fund Technical Assistance Grants for the next fiscal year 1432H. (2011), provided the amount scheduled is not below US$ 5 million. The Board equally decided to dedicate the equivalent of 2% of the Bank’s net income expected for the current fiscal year 1431 H (2010) to fund the Scholarship programme for outstanding students, in the form of Grants offered by the Bank for the next fiscal year 1432H (2011), provided the amount scheduled is not below US$ 2 million. The Board of Governors also elected the Governor for the Republic of Yemen as the Chairman of the next session of the Board, while the Governor for the Republic of Guinea-Bissau and the Governor for the State of Palestine will serve as Vice-Chairmen. The next Board of Governors’ meeting will be held in Sana'a, Yemen, at the invitation of the Government of Yemen. The Board of Governors approved the holding of the 39th Annual Meeting in the Republic of Tajikistan, at the invitation of the Government of that country. H.E. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali was re-elected for a new term extending to 2015 as President of the Islamic Development Bank. The IDB Group Annual Meetings also included the holding of the 17th Annual Meeting of ICIEC’s Board of Governors, the 10th General Assembly of ICD, the 3rd annual meeting of ISFD Board of Governors, and the 5th ITFC General Assembly. Alongside the annual meeting of the Board of Governors, the Supreme Council of the Al-Aqsa and Al Quds Funds met under the Chairmanship of HE Karim Joudi, IDB Governor for the Republic of Algeria. The Board examined the role played by the Al-Aqsa Fund in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, as well as the role of Arab funds in general, in the development of Palestine. The Board expressed its thanks to the Arab Summit held in Sirte, Libya, for their decision to increase their support to the Al-Aqsa and Al Quds Funds by an amount of US$ 500 million, as a contribution to the resistance of the Palestinian people. The Board also extended its thanks to the Arab Funds and financial institutions that contributed in the resources of Al-Aqsa Fund and helped it carry out its role in meeting the urgent needs of the Palestinian people. The Board expressed special thanks to the Arab Funds that allocated an amount of US$ 70 million for the development projects, when they last met in April 2010 in Khartoum, Sudan. Owing to the difficult circumstances and the continual degradation of the situation and the living conditions of the inhabitants of Al-Quds, the Board appealed to the member countries to hasten remitting their contributions within the framework of a supplementary assistance that will allow the Fund to do its utmost in order to ensure the minimum level of health care, education and housing to the population of Al-Quds. The Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Funds confirmed that, in the framework of the assistance provided through these two entities, an overall amount of US$ 766 million was disbursed for various development projects which included the building of thousands of houses, roads, and schools, in addition to the installation of water and electrical networks. The assistance was also extended to provide health care and education to the main victims, as well as rehabilitate hospitals, reclaim agricultural lands, dig wells for irrigation, print millions of textbooks, award scholarships for students of both sexes to carry on their higher education, notwithstanding interest-free loans for small projects and a US$ 780 million subsidy to consolidate the Palestinian National Authority budget. On the sidelines of this year’s Annual Meeting, many important meetings and symposia were organized, such as the 21st IDB Symposium entitled “Achieving food security in member countries in the post-crisis world”. The Symposium was chaired by Mr. Shahin Mustafayev, Chairman of the Board of Governors. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President IDB Group delivered the welcome address, followed by the keynote address by Mr. Kanayo Nwanza, President of IFAD. A five-member panelists – comprising of Mr. Ismat Abbasov, Minister of Agriculture, Azerbaijan; Mr. Moustapha Jassem Al-Chamali, Minister of Finance and IDB Governor from Kuwait; and Mr. Sabir Mohammed Hassan, Governor of Central Bank of Sudan; Mr. Mahmoud Solh, Director General, ICARDA; and Dr. Rafik Ali Salah, Director General, ACSAD – shared their thoughts and ideas on issues relating to food security in IDB member countries and suggested practical ways and means to address them. The Symposium came up with a number of conclusions and recommendations which will be implemented by the IDB Group and member countries. During the Annual Meeting, the IDB Prize in the field of Islamic banking for the year 2010 was awarded to Professor Rifat Ahmad Abdelkarim (Sudan) for his efforts in developing the concept of financial services and Islamic Finance. Three prizes were awarded in the field of sciences and technology to encourage excellence in research centres in the member countries. For 2010, the prizes were awarded to Isfahan Sciences and Technology City (Iran), the Chemical Research Institute of the University of Karachi (Pakistan) and the School of Engineering of the Islamic University of Gaza. A cash prize of US$ 100,000 is dedicated for each prize. The prize is awarded to the winning institution with a commemorating medal and a certificate. On the same occasion, IDB Prize for women’s contributions to development at the individual and institutional levels was awarded. The individual prize was equally awarded to two winners: Mrs Zohra Kiali (Morocco) and Mrs Maz Hing (China), i.e. US$ 25,000 for each winner. The prize for women’s institutions and NGOs, amounting to US$ 100,000 was divided among three institutions, namely: the Sierra Leone organization Haykal for its pioneering role in providing vanguard education and women’s empowerment (US$40,000); Brastor organization (Tajikistan) for its role in encouraging women’s empowerment (US$40,000), and the Women’s Committee for Islamic Education in Bahrain for its initiatives in strengthening social values and capacities among women (US$20,000). A forum was held on Partnership Strategy with the member countries with a view to further consultation and dialogue with member countries towards improving the synergy of the Bank with those countries and thus adopt a strategic approach to streamline the priorities for member country development. The partnership strategy is expected to enhance cooperation, complimentarity and exchange of experience among the member countries. This program is in line with the IDB Group strategy to realize the IDB Vision 1440H (2020). The Forum also reviewed the Turkish-Syrian pioneering experience on such cooperation and the possibility of duplicating this successful experience in other countries. Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, IDB Group President, described the decisions adopted by the Board as extremely important, highlighting that such decisions will surely help promote multifaceted cooperation between the member countries, in the service of the interests and ambitions of the Ummah. The Board of Governors expressed thanks and gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, for presiding over the opening of the 35th annual meeting of the board of Governors, and for the seminal speech, in which he put forth a number of wise ideas and suggestions. The speech of the President was retained as an official document of the Board. The Board also extended thanks to the Government and people of Azerbaijan for their warm welcome and generous hospitality, and for the excellent arrangements which ensured the success of the meeting of the Board of Governors and other sideline events.