The Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IDB) held its 42nd annual meeting in Jeddah today to discuss development issues and institutional matters. The Chairman of the IDB Group Dr. Bandar Bin Hamza Hajjar attended the meeting, as well as ministers of finance, economy and planning from the 57 IDB Group member countries, and over 2,000 other participants from international regional finance institutions, representatives of Islamic banks, contractors and consultants. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) explored opportunities for growth of Member State small and medium enterprises. ITFC Chairman Engineer Hani Salem Sunbel said the meeting offers a platform for Member Countries to analyze obstacles and recommend strategies to stimulate economies. He said the IDB meetings would witness the signing of agreements between the ITFC and the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Gambia. The Board of Executive Directors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) concluded its 319th session here today, approving $453.3 million to finance projects in a number of IDB member states. During the session, the Board approved financing new development projects in five Member States, $200 million to finance a clean energy project in Turkey, $79 million to finance a health emergency project in Jordan, $60 million to finance a local economy development project in Uganda, and $35 million to finance a public housing project in Suriname. The Board also approved three grants from the Bank's Waqf Fund to finance three projects for Muslim communities, $200,000 to finance an educational project for the Muslim community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, $200,000 to finance a medical project for Muslim community in Kenya, and $180,000 to finance an educational project for Muslim community in Rwanda.
