ALGIERS, 24 October — Minister of Finance and National Economy Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf said the Kingdom is bound to be affected by the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and predicted that the world recession, whose signs were already visible before the bombing of New York and Washington, would extend for a much longer period.
Speaking in the Algerian capital yesterday after the opening of the annual meeting of Muslim finance and economy ministers, Dr. Al-Assaf said the attacks “will undoubtedly affect the world economy and this will reflect on the economies of IDB member states including Saudi Arabia.”
The conference was opened by the Algerian Minister of Finance Mourad Medlsse, who identified six areas which he said will bear the greater impact of the economic slowdown on Muslim countries.
These include fighting poverty, debt reduction, fluctuation in oil and commodity prices, attracting external investments and the challenges posed by the technological revolution. He called for a joint and concerted action to address these challenges.
Preliminary meetings preceding the conference over the past two days were overshadowed by the mounting campaign in the United States and other Western countries following accusations that some Islamic financial institutions provided assistance to what the US considers terrorist cells.
Asked to comment on this campaign Dr. Al-Assaf said both Islamic and conventional banks have been mentioned and it is imperative that financial institutions of Muslim countries be protected.
IDB President Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali said the delegates conducted extensive discussions and exchange of views on the dimensions of these events and their possible implications on member countries. The participants also deliberated on how to effectively deal with such events in future.
On Monday, delegates attending the general assembly of the Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions expressed concern over future effects of the deadly attacks on the Islamic banking system and agreed on a joint plan to explain the position of Islamic banks.
The delegates said they were annoyed by the accelerated criticism of Islamic banks in the West and spoke of an unjust campaign being launched them following US accusations that some of the institutions and individuals have links to what Washington calls terrorist cells.
Saudi businessman Saleh Kamel, chairman of Dallah Albaraka Group and head of the Council of Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions, said they reject such campaign, which is primarily directed against all Muslims.
Speaking after the meeting, he said Muslims are deliberately being singled out although some of the listed individuals and firms have accounts with Western banks.
“We do not know the motives that make the Western media implicate Islamic banks in financing terrorism. This is an unjust accusation, which we categorically reject,” Kamel said, adding that the implication of Islamic banks is part of a campaign against “everything that relates to Islam”.
IDB President Dr. Ali defended the performance of Islamic banks saying: “It is wrong to say that Islamic banks support terrorist activities. These banks function with transparency and conduct their activities under the supervision of the central banks in the countries they operate.”
The bank approved $330 million to finance of development projects in a number of member states and in favor of Muslim communities in non-member countries.
