Jeddah, KSA, 23.03.2015 – Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank
(IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali on Sunday, met with HE Gillmore
Hoefdraad, Central Bank Governor and IDB Governor for the Republic of
Suriname and his accompanying delegation.

Relaying the message of appreciation of HE the President of the
Republic of Suriname to IDB Group Chairman, HE Gillmore Hoefdraad
praised the existing relations between his country and the IDB Group
and underlined Suriname’s desire to promote further cooperation. The
IDB Governor further noted that the response from the various entities
of the IDB Group have been very favorable especially in the health and
education sectors to which the Bank has contributed US $75 million.

The meeting focused on discussing the progress made in the
implementation of the partnership strategy between the Government of
Suriname and the IDB Group, signed last November, under which the IDB
Group is focusing on supporting the priority sectors set by Suriname.
HE Gillmore Hoefdraad stated that his country currently benefits from
IDB’s “reverse Linkage” program for exchange of expertise amongst
member countries based on which Suriname is currently cooperating
with Malaysia to take advantage of Kuala Lumpur’s expertise in the
development of agriculture, particularly in rice production.

The IDB Group Chairman, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, expressed pleasure over
the tangible progress made by Suriname, as well as the cooperation
between Suriname and Malaysia. Dr. Ali stated that the visit by HE
Gillmore Hoefdraad will help uplift the existing relations between
Suriname and the IDB Group.

The Republic of Suriname joined the IDB in 1997. Since then, the IDB
Group has approved US $108 million for financing various development
projects in the country with a focus on the health and transport
sectors. IDB comprises 56 member countries of which the Republic of
Suriname is the only one from the South American continent.