The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), the private sector arm of IDB Group, and OJSI "Ipak Yuli Bank" (www.IpakYuliBank.com) have entered into a joint strategic collaboration to finance SMEs in Uzbekistan. The CEO of ICD Khaled Al-Aboodi and Alisher Mirzaev, acting Chairman of the Management Board on behalf of OJSI "Ipak Yuli Bank", signed on behalf of their institutions during the IDB 42nd Annual Meeting, which took place at Hotel Hilton in Jeddah. The collaboration will focus on developing private sector especially SMEs to support economy and strengthen the balance sheet of the Bank. It also aims to improve the living standard of the population by creating jobs, generating tax revenues for the government and promoting Islamic Banking in the country. Khalid Al-Aboodi, CEO of ICD, said "ICD has been successfully engaging with local banks in Uzbekistan to strengthen the SMEs. We are pleased to extend the next line of financing facility to Ipak Yuli Bank which will be enhancing the impact of socio-economic development." Alisher Mirzaev said "we are delighted about this partnership with ICD and Ipak Yuli Bank. Through this partnership we are further committed to provide professional provision of wide spectrum of banking services which conform to the business needs of customers while promoting private entrepreneurship in the Republic of Uzbekistan." — SG
