Fakhoury heads Jordan’s delegation to IDB governors’ meeting

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury has headed the Jordanian delegation to the 43rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Tunisia, a Planning Ministry statement said.

Held under the patronage of Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the meeting saw the participation of governors of the bank's groups including the IDB, the Islamic Research and Training Institute, the Islamic Corporation for Development of the Private Sector, the Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investment and Export Credit and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.

Fakhoury, who is Jordan’s governor of the bank, called on the group's financial support to the Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian refugee crisis 2018-2022 by focusing on the support of capital projects in the host communities.

The minister stressed the importance of finding suitable financing mechanisms to support the refugees' host countries and providing technical support to address the development challenges stemming out of the crisis.

He said Jordan implemented projects worth $10 billion over the last decade, adding that the Kingdom will provide investment opportunities worth $15 billion in the next five years, the statement read.

The minister outlined the economic challenges due to hosting some 1.3 million Syrian refugees, noting that they increased the pressure on the country's fiscal situation with an annual cost of JD1.5 billion to provide services for the refugees and host communities.

"Jordan did not take the refugee crisis as a pretext to slow down its development, but instead worked on transforming challenges into opportunities," he stressed.

The meeting endorsed the annual reports of bank’s institutions such as the 2017 fiscal report and the allocation of part of the net profit for technical grant process 2018-2022, according to the statement.

The group elected the chairman of the bank’s board of governors and his deputy for 2019, formed the procedural committee of the next meeting and the members of the board of directors of the Islamic foundation for the development of the private sector.

"The transform fund" was launched on the sidelines of the meeting with a capital of $500 million to support innovation in the Arab world for the public interest.

Fakhoury discussed issues of common interest with President of the IDB Bandar Hajja. He said that Jordan is looking forward to benefitting from the financial services and technical support of the bank, while Hajjar expressed appreciation for the Kingdom’s role in the region, stressing the group’s keenness on supporting the countries' projects, the statement said.

In a meeting with President of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation Hani Sonbol, Fakhoury praised the $13 billion framework agreement between Jordan and the corporation, which provided concessional loans to finance trade with a focus on the energy sector.