Azerbaijan, Baku, June 30 / Trend , I. Khalilova/
Islamic Development Bank (IDB) suggested the Azerbaijani government to start a new cooperation program which will cover the period from 2010 to 2012, bank's representative in the country Tamerlan Tagiyev said.
"The need to develop a new program is linked with a desire to create a list of projects that may be proposed for consideration during the investment conference as a part of the 35th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB Group, which will take place in June 2010 in Baku," Tagiyev said.
The conference is expected to be attended by representatives of all structural units of the Islamic Bank and investors from 55 member countries of the Bank (56 members including Azerbaijan).
Tagiyev said the bank is ready to send a mission to Azerbaijan to launch the program.
"Islamic bank gives preference to funding projects in Azerbaijan in the energy, water and irrigation, building roads, improving living conditions of refugees and internally displaced persons," he said.
IDB approved funding worth $280 million for projects in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan cooperates with and is a member of the Islamic bank since 1991. The percentage of country's participation in the capital of the bank is 0.13 percent.
Along with the financing of projects under the state guarantee, the structural units of the bank, in particular the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) included in the IDB Group), has stated a desire to support projects in Azerbaijan directly. And, along with increased funding through commercial banks, the corporation is prepared to directly support local companies.
The corporation has an opportunity to finance the private sector in the country through the Caspian International Investment Company established by ICD together with the Azerbaijan Investment Company.
Islamic Development Bank was founded in 1975. Authorized capital of the bank has increased fifteen times from 2 billion Islamic Dinars (Islamic Dinar is a unit of account of IDB and is equivalent to one Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund) to 30 billion Islamic dinars since its inception.
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