The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka have agreed to conduct a comprehensive study to determine the impact of the Bank's funding for the Sri Lankan Muslim community over the past 35 years, with a view to prioritizing and improving the performance of projects implemented the IDB, and to identify the real needs of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka.

During his visit to the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) headquarters in Jeddah today, Mr. Azmi Thassim, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia, briefed Dr Bandar Hajjar, IDB President, on the progress of the projects being implemented by the Bank in his country, stressing that these projects contribute effectively to the development of the Muslim community there, mainly in education and health sectors.

The ambassador pointed out that the proportion of Muslims in Sri Lanka ranges from 9 to 10 percent, and in some areas the proportion of Muslims 100 percent. He said the government was targeting the development of the eastern region of the Country, which has a Muslim population of 35 percent, and was affected by the war, which ended seven years ago.

Dr Hajjar stressed the strong ties of the IDB with the Sri Lankan Muslim community. He pointed out that the number of projects implemented and implemented by the Bank in Sri Lanka is 18 projects, mainly education projects. The students benefit from the scholarship projects funded by the Bank. The President, IDB confirmed readiness to consider any plans aimed at the development of the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, after the assessments and review that IDB intends to conduct in collaboration with
the Sri Lankan government.

On the other hand, the Sri Lankan Ambassador expressed his country's desire to get IDB’s support in the field of the application of Islamic banking, stressing the general trend of Muslims and many non-Muslims to deal with the perspective of Islamic finance. It is known that many countries around the world seek to adopt Islamic finance based on the real economy, which will have a positive impact in supporting the economy and withstand the shocks that may affect the global economy.