By KUNA
Riyadh : The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Board of Executive Directors started a regular meeting in Jeddah on Sunday, chaired by IDB President Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali.
The meeting will discuss a proposal for supporting the program, adopted by the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a new organ in the Bank Group, with USD 1 billion for bolstering trade among the member states, the IDB said in a statement.
It added that the meeting would also review a report on the role of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, also a new organ, on how to help the African countries achieve the UN eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in addition to a host of reports on inter-IDB trade.
In addition, the meeting will also address a draft agenda for the IDB Board of Governors’ 33 ministerial meeting due in Jeddah in June.
One important topic to be tackled by the IDB board is approving fresh allocations to contribute to the financing of several development projects in the member states and as well as providing grants and aid to Islamic communities in some non-members.
The IDB Board of Executive Directors consists of 14 members, among them seven permanent ones contributing the most to the IDB capital. These are Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, the UAE and Libya. The other seven posts are elected for a three-year term in line with the geographical locations of the IDB members.
The IDB, a specialized institution of the OIC, is an international financing institution, established in 1975 as an affiliate of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The Bank was formally inaugurated on 20 October, 1975.
The purpose of the Bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of the 56 member states and Muslim communities individually as well as collectively.