JEDDAH — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) said it has allocated $16 million toward the development of the southern areas of the Philippines, the scene of a prolonged fighting between government forces and the Muslim population demanding greater autonomy.
Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali, president of the Jeddah-based IDB, yesterday received Zamzamin Ampatuan, administrator of the Southern Philippines Development Authority, and assured him of the bank's continued cooperation with the Authority to improve the living conditions of the Muslim population in Mindanao.
Ampatuan said after the meeting he briefed Ali on the activities of the Authority and asked the bank to help finance development projects in Mindanao and encourage private sector investments in the region.
Ali said an amount of $2.5 million from the total bank allocations for Mindanao has already been used for the implementation of seven projects in health and education.
In 1998 the IDB organized a major conference aimed at encouraging businessmen from Muslim countries to invest in Muslim areas of the southern Philippines. A number of agreements worth $280 million were signed during the conference between local businessmen and Muslim investors.
The IDB has so far spent $8 million in favor of the Muslim community in the Philippines to finance 22 projects and offered 409 scholars for Muslim students from the area to pursue higher education. Of these 189 students have graduated from medicine, engineering, pharmacy, agriculture and computer colleges and are now serving their local communities.
