JEDDAH, 10 February 2005 — The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved nearly $599 million for technical assistance, special aid, trade operations and project financing in a number of member states and for Muslim communities in non-member countries. IDB’s Board of Executive Directors (BED) approved the amount during the 228th session held at the bank’s headquarters here on Monday.
Dr. Ahmed Muhammad Ali, president of the bank, who chaired the meeting, said in a statement that the session renewed its pledge of $500 million for the tsunami-affected countries and emphasized the need for international coordination of relief programs using aid pouring in from all over the world.
With $60.7 million, Morocco gets the largest amount of aid for development projects, followed by Senegal ($32.5 million), Indonesia ($20.3 million), Afghanistan ($20 million), Algeria ($15.5 million), Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan ($10.4 million each), Sudan ($10 million), and Bangladesh ($3 million). — Habib Shaikh
