JEDDAH – Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Board of Governors of Islamic Development Bank Group and Governor of the bank for Saudi Arabia Dr. Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf inaugurated at the headquarters of the bank in Jeddah Wednesday the fourth high-level regional forum the IDB Group is organizing for Arab member countries. This was in the presence of a number of governors to review performance of the group during the past four decades and draw up a strategy for the group for the coming ten years within the preparatory consultations for celebrating the 40th anniversary for establishing IDB. In the opening speech, Al-Assaf thanked the Board of Executive Governors and the management and personnel of the IDB Group for the big successes achieved during the past four decades. This has placed the IDB Group in a reputable position in the field of economic and social development at the world level. He stressed the Kingdom's pride on the development of the bank and the volume of its work, branching of its activities and the flexibility of its mechanisms that have converted it to a number of organizations working in different fields of development. Al-Assaf called upon the ministers to contribute effectively with their opinions and experience to prepare a strategy for IDB Group for the coming decade. It should be flexible and respond to the aspirations of the member countries in socio-economic development taking into consideration the regional and global economic changes while focusing on human resources and the means to develop them and benefit from modern technology. He added that interaction and integration between the Group's organizations within will strengthen it in dealing with its external surroundings. Meanwhile, Chairman of IDB Group Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali said the most prominent economic challenges facing the nation is in achieving prosperity with a suitable economic growth rate and finding job opportunities for millions of young men and women who form the majority of the population and being cautious about the continued weak performance for the global economy. He also warned against the fragile confidence levels in the global markets that are lacking balanced recovery. Dr. Ali stressed the bank's keenness to be the more credible partner in the field of development, that it should be distinctive with its experience and compliant with modernization. Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Amin Madani stressed the bank's role amid the system of supporting organizations for joint Islamic work, keenness for trade between member countries in the organization, supporting the organization's work plan in the Central Asia region and giving attention to developing the organizational capabilities of the member countries. This is aside from strengthening the pioneering role in the projects that employ the youth and attaching importance to small financing. Following the inauguration, Al-Assaf chaired the dialogue session in which the ministers and representatives of the Arab countries participated. The dialogue resulted in several important recommendations for the IDB Group. They included boosting building human and organizational capabilities in the member countries, the importance of intensifying programs for employing the youth, spreading the networks of social safety, and boosting the role of small and medium firms, among others.
