The Islamic Development Bank conducts a regional vision workshop for member countries in Africa
Ouagadougou : Saturday, October 1, 2005
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is assembling eminent personalities from Africa to advise it on how to position itself in the new economic realities of the world, an initiative the Bank is conducting in its member countries under the title "IDB 2020 Vision".
The one day workshop will be inaugurated by H.E. Mr. Paramanga Ernest Yonli. Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, in Ouagadougou on First of Oct. 2005. High ranking officials of eight member countries in Africa will participate in the workshop, namely Egypt, Chad, Gabon, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal in addition to the African Development Bank, CILLIS, UEMOA and LIPTAKO GAURMA.
The brainstorming workshop will identify strategic challenges and key development issues faced by IDB and propose the Banks role in the future. IDB Believes that the development models pursed in the last decades now necessitate its member countries to prepare themselves to deal with the emerging economic power, market oriented economy, continuing illiteracy, poverty, and emerging knowledge economy that requires competitive advantage.
A brainstorming session for the initiation of this initiative was held in March 2005 at IDB Headquarters where leaders from various member countries participated and started the process of formulating the IDB 2020 Vision. A commission of twelve eminent personalities led by H.E. Tun Dr. Mahathir Muhammad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, with the participation of H.E. Dr. Bachruddin Jusuf Habibie the former President of Indonesia, has been formed to solicit regional perspective and identify regional challenges and opportunities. The Commission will be responsible for formulating the Vision and present it to the IDB Management in Dec. 2005.
Three regional workshops were held so far for this purpose. The first one was for Asia Region plus Suriname which was held in Kuala Lumpur in June 2005 while the second one was held in August 2005 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, for member countries from ECO and Albania. The third workshop for the Middle East and North Africa Region was held in Dubai this month. The Ouagadougou workshop will be the last regional workshop directed towards the Sub- Saharan African Countries.