JEDDAH, 9 March 2008 — Indonesian President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono has expressed his full support to the newly established Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) when he met with a delegation from the fund’s advisory panel in Jakarta on Thursday.
The delegation comprised former Indonesian President Bahruddin Yousef Habibi, Dr. Abdulrahman Swar Al-Dahab, former president of Sudan and member of the advisory panel and Islamic Development Bank President Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali.
The Indonesian side included ministers of foreign affairs, economy and finance. The finance minister is also the IDB governor for Indonesia.
The delegation visited Indonesia in a bid to mobilize resources for the fund before the upcoming summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Dakar, Senegal, next week.
The Indonesian president said he would consult with the heads of OIC states during the summit to realize the ways and means of achieving its noble objectives. He also expressed his willingness to share his country’s experience in poverty alleviation, improving living conditions, job creation and technical training.
On his part, the IDB president said the support for the fund initiative reflected the determination of the member states to eliminate poverty, improve living conditions of the people and utilization of science and technology. The ISFD initiative goes back to the OIC extraordinary summit held in Makkah in December 2005 within the 10-year program of action adopted by the OIC. The IDB was entrusted with establishing the fund.
