MANAMA, 30 March 2008 — Bahrain will host a high level meeting of the Islamic Development Bank’s women’s advisory panel with the aim of exploring the possibilities of enhancing the scope of women’s role in socio-economic development across Islamic world.
Experts are giving importance to this meeting in the wake of the $10-billion Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) aimed at poverty reduction fund operated by the IDB.
The two-day meeting starts tomorrow to address major challenges and opportunities being faced by the IDB member countries specifically in socio-economic segments.
The fourth meeting of the IDB Women’s Advisory Panel will be inaugurated by Shaikh Ahmed ibn Mohammed Al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s minister of finance and chairman of the Board of Governors of the IDB.
The ISFD objectives are linked directly to supporting the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. As such, the fund is focused on combating poverty in the poorest IDB member nations, 80 percent of which are located in sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat pockets of poverty in other member states.
Over the course of the two-day event a number of key topics will be addressed. This includes plans and strategies for empowering women, progress on current projects of the IDB’s Advisory Panel, and the experience of member states - including a presentation from the Bahrain Council of Women on the Kingdom’s successes to date.
The bank aims to foster economic and social development in member countries and in Muslim communities located in non-member states through the provision of financing for productive projects and enterprises. To date, the IDB has provided in excess of $50 billion in financing in accordance with the principles of Shariah or Islamic law.
Importantly, the meeting will also focus on new IDB initiatives aimed at enhancing the position of women in the Islamic world. Key among these is the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), a $10 billion fund whose objectives are linked directly to supporting the achievement of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals and whose efforts will focus on combating poverty and spurring economic development in the poorest Islamic member nations.