JEDDAH, 3 June 2008 — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group announced yesterday that it would give $1.5 billion in soft loans to poor Muslim countries to increase agricultural production and achieve food security within the next five years.

The announcement was made during the 33rd annual conference of IDB governors at the Jeddah Hilton that was opened by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. Finance, economy and planning ministers of 56 IDB member countries attended the meeting.

As King Abdullah, accompanied by Cabinet members and princes, entered the conference hall, the delegates gave him a standing ovation in recognition of his efforts to strengthen Islamic solidarity. The king’s presence reflected his strong support for IDB, which is the most successful institution under the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

IDB President Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Ali enumerated the bank’s achievements over the past three decades, saying it had given $53 billion to finance various development and welfare projects in member countries and Muslim communities in non-member countries. Bahrain’s Finance Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Muhammad Al-Khalifa, current chairman of the group’s board of governors, made the announcement of the $1.5 billion soft loans for IDB member countries. Rising commodity prices in recent months have hit most Muslim countries as producers, especially of rice, began exporting less of their yields to offset their own food crises.

In his keynote speech, the IDB president emphasized the bank’s efforts to boost social and economic development of member countries. “We have given easy access to funds for Muslims around the world to carry out various educational, health, industrial and infrastructure projects,” he said.

IDB finance for development projects in member countries grew by 21 percent to $2.66 billion last year compared to the previous year. It also gave $2.6 billion to finance trade deals among Muslim countries. “This brings the total finances provided by the group last year to $5.3 billion,” the IDB chief informed.

Ali said it was King Abdullah who proposed to double the bank’s capital from 15 billion to 30 billion Islamic dinars — one dinar is equal to 1.5 US dollar. (The Islamic dinar is not a physical currency; it is a valuation mechanism the IDB uses to rectify the different currencies and valuations used by its member states.)

During the OIC summit in Putrajaya, Malaysia in 2003, King Abdullah, who was then crown prince, called for increasing trade among OIC member countries, he added. The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), a subsidiary of the IDB Group, unveiled its new corporate identity and logo during the opening.

OIC Secretary-General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu was another keynote speaker. He praised the king for his support to the OIC program for taking care of the orphans of tsunami victims in Indonesia. Some of these orphans from Aceh were at the conference to thank the king.

The OIC chief emphasized the need for waiving debts of poor countries to help them achieve sustainable development. He also urged Muslim countries to make joint efforts to boost agricultural production. Ihsanoglu announced plans to establish a railway line linking Dakar in Senegal and Port Sudan, saying the project would have big impact on the region’s development.

King Abdullah later distributed various IDB prizes to their winners. Sheikh Muhammad Mukhtar Al-Salami of Tunisia and Sheikh Abdullah bin Suleiman Al-Manea of Saudi Arabia received awards for Islamic Banking and Financing. The Institute for Molecular Medicine Research in Universiti Sains Malaysia, Punjab University’s Center of Excellence in Molecular Biology and the Commission of Agricultural Research in Sudan received prizes in science and technology, each valued at $100,000.

Bangladesh’s Rona Khan and Iran’s Saeedah Qodas received their awards for Women Development Contribution valued at $50,000. The Orphanage Association in Saudi Arabia and Al-Afyah Association shared another award for NGOs worth $100,000 for Health care Development in Sudan. The science and technology awards are distributed for the sixth consecutive year. These awards are part of IDB’s strategy to promote science and technology in the Islamic world.