Guyana officially joins Islamic Development Bank
Published On: Wed, May 18th, 2016
Guyana on Tuesday officially became the 57th member of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) during at the opening ceremony of the bank’s annual governors meeting, which is being held in Indonesia.
President of the IsDB, Ahmad Mohammed Ali said, “We congratulate Guyana for becoming the 57th member of the bank.”
By joining the bank, Ali said that Guyana will receive finance to development various sectors, in particular in the area of infrastructure.
The finance minister of Indonesia, Bambang Brodjonegoro, told the gathering that Guyana is now able to have access financing from the IsDB.”
Also present at the ceremonial opening of the 41st governors meeting was the vice president of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, the governor of the Bank of Indonesia, Agus Martowadjojo and former president of Indonesia, BJ Habibie.
Finance minister of Guyana, Winston Jordan, is making his debut appearance in Jakarta personally to witness Guyana’s initiation into the group.
Jordan will also hold the title of governor to the Islamic Bank and a deputy governor must be appointed as well.
According to the finance ministry press release, this membership allows Guyana “access to concessionary resources, grants and interest free loans.”
“This will greatly assist in financing the government’s development agenda; redounding to the ‘good life’ for all citizens. The areas of intervention of the IsDB include human development, rural development and food safety, infrastructural development, trade among member countries and private sector development, research and development in Islamic economies and banking and finance,” the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, Suriname, which is also a member of the Islamic Bank, is represented by its Finance Minister Gilmore Hoefdraad and Deputy Governor, Dr Anwar Lall Mohamed. Surinamese entrepreneurs are also participating in the Jakarta meeting. The private sector is expanding economic ties between Indonesia and Suriname and, especially with the support of the Islamic Bank, rhetoric is now becoming reality.
http://guyanapress.com/guyana-...ic-development-bank/