By IINA
Manama : A high-level gathering of the Women’s Advisory Panel of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB is set to begin here today. Bahrain’s Minister of Finance Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, who is also chairman of the Board of Governors of IDB, will inaugurate the two-day event. The conference aims to address the ever important role of women in the socio-economic development of member countries of IDB, the multilateral development financing institution for the Islamic world.
The Fourth Meeting of the Panel will discuss a number of key topics, including plans and strategies for empowering women, progress on current projects of the IDB’s Advisory Panel, and the experience of member states – including a presentation from the Bahrain Council of Women on the Kingdom’s successes to date, according to an IDB statement. Significantly, the meeting will also focus on new IDB initiatives aimed at enhancing the position of women in the Islamic world. Key among these is the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), a $10 billion fund whose objectives are linked directly to supporting the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and whose efforts will focus on combating poverty and spurring economic development in the poorest Islamic member nations.