IDB offers rescue funds to poor Muslim nations

IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali.

The Islamic Development Bank has created a fund that will offer low cost loans to 32 poor Muslim countries in order to help them cope with soaring prices of basic foodstuff.

At a conference in Jeddah on Wednesday, IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali said the bank, "will help member countries to have strategic stocks, especially of grains, to be able to manage the situation of their prices."

The Islamic Development Bank was established in 1973 to provide financial services to countries committed to Sharia principles. There are now 52 members under the IDB umbrella, but the vast majority of its finances come from oil rich countries of the GCC. Saudi Arabia, alone, contributes around two billion Islamic Dinars to IDB funds, equivalent to roughly $2.9 billion. Kuwait contributes around $1.4 billion and the UAE $800,000.

The bank did not specify how much money would be available in loans to members during the current food inflation crisis, but revealed that in the last financial year, $4.8 billion was pumped into member states, two-thirds of which was in the form of low cost loans.

The list of countries that will receive assistance was also not disclosed. African countries such as Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, and Niger are certain to be among the 32 that will receive help over a five-year period.

In return for financial assistance, IDB expects beneficiary states to improve their governance in line with Sharia principles, although the bank stops short of imposing strict Islamic rules in return for funds.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM