Statement by Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group : 88th meeting of the Development Committee

This is a statement by Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, at the eighty-eighth meeting of the Development Committe held on October 12, 2013. He starts wishes to reiterate its commitment to further leverage its partnership with the international development community to foster the socio-economic progress of its member countries and mitigate the impact of the global economic crisis on their economies. He take this opportunity to share the IsDB Group's point of views on global development issues and the actions we have taken to assist our member countries to respond to them. Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the eruption of the global financial crisis five years ago, the global economy has passed through several phases. In the early years of the crisis, there was a two-speed global economic recovery: one by the emerging economies, which experienced strong and high growth, and the other by advanced countries that recorded slow but weak growth. Growth in the 56 IsDB member countries is expected to average 4.3 percent in 2013 and 4.7 percent in 2014. Approximately half of the population in Arab countries is below 25 years old and the region is plagued with structural youth unemployment. It is estimated that the direct opportunity cost of youth unemployment to the region is US$40-US$50 billion annually. To date, the IsDB Group has been intensifying its support to member countries by financing critical economic sectors to achieve high multiplier impacts on their economies. It has also exerted efforts in promoting and mainstreaming Islamic Finance in the financial systems of member countries to enhance productive financial intermediation for sustainable and inclusive growth.