JEDDAH: President of the Islamic Developmet Bank (IDB) Group, Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali, has called for an increased participation of the youths and the provision of the economic, social and political resources to create a balanced system that could better respond to the financial and basic human needs. Speaking at the 22nd IDB Forum held Wednesday under the title “Tackling unemployment in member countries following the financial crisis” on the sidelines of the 36th annual meeting for the bank's group, Dr. Ali said solutions exist on job creation, such as by encouraging foreign investments, implementing customized sustainable development projects and enhancing the ancillary sectors. He said the bank has participated with an international financial institution – one of the members of the World Bank Group – in launching a new project entitled “Education leading to youth employment” in 2011.” The two institutions agreed on mobilizing between $1-$2 billion from the regional and international community to invest in the education programs leading to employment in the Arab world in the coming five years with the participation of several concerned parties including governments, employers, education authorities, civil society and students. IDB has recently allocated $250 million to tackle unemployment in a selection of countries and provide job opportunities through training programs that meet the labor market needs, he added. In an effort to help facilitate the goals set forth by the IDB Group, Dr. Ali handed the Board of Governors a strategic plan to be developed by 2020 which encompasses stable growth along with sustainable development, inter- regional initiatives, education expansion and financial support for productive family businesses.
