IDB will offer easy loans to poor Muslim countries

By Mariam Al Hakeem,

Dubai: The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) plans to offer easy loans to poor Muslim countries to enable them to reduce the impact of high food and fuel prices on their populations.

IDB president Ahmad Mohammad Ali said the IBD Group's board of governors will meet in Jeddah on Tuesday to discuss a plan "to offer low-cost loans to 32 poor Muslim countries as a bulwark against the surging prices".

The conference will be opened by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz in the presence of finance and economy ministers from 56 IDB member countries.

Ali said Arab countries suffering from poverty and war will be included in the package against global inflation. "The IDB will submit the plan to Saudi Finance Minister Ebrahin Al Assaf at the board meeting," he said.

Member countries will be helped in building food stocks to tackle shortage of essential items and price increases.

"It is a five-year programme starting immediately. It will target the least developed states and intermediate-income countries," the IDB chief said, adding that 32 countries will benefit from it.

Many contracts have been assigned by the IDB and the Poverty Reduction Fund with the participation of Saudi Arabia to send delegations to African countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and Niger.

Seminars

The IDB chief noted that at least 20 meetings of the affiliated bodies of the bank were held and some 11 seminars and forums were conducted as part of strengthening development activities and boosting Islamic finance in the member countries before the board of governors' meeting.

The upcoming meeting will discuss the goals of the Poverty Reduction Fund.

The fund was launched during the last IDB governors' meeting in Dakar last year. Saudi Arabia and the IDB have contributed $1 billion each to the $10 billion fund.

"The Jeddah meeting will discuss ways to harness more money for the fund," Ali said.