Statement by Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, Chairman, IDB Group, at the Opening Ceremony of the IDB Group Country Gateway Office in Indonesia

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1 Statement by Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, Chairman, IDB Group, at the Opening Ceremony of the IDB Group Country Gateway Office in Indonesia 11 December 2014 Jakarta, Indonesia بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Your Excellency Prof. Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia and IDB Governor السالم عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته Allow me at the outset of this wonderful evening, on behalf of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group to congratulate H.E. Joko Widodo, the President of Indonesia and his New Government for leading ambitious reform agenda of improving quality of education, healthcare and infrastructure. Indeed, it is the reflection of the trust and confidence of the Indonesian People in His Excellency s able leadership to steer the affairs of the great people of this very important country, Indonesia. I would also like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Your Excellency for gracing this ceremony and for your continuous support to the IDB Group. My special thanks and appreciation also goes to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia and other Government Authorities for taking a prime role in organizing this celebration. I am delighted to have the opportunity to address this eminent gathering on this august occasion. We have come together at a momentous time for the IDB Group and its relationship with Indonesia. The inauguration of the IDB Group Country Gateway Office (CGO) undoubtedly marks a turning point in the IDB s efforts to get closer to its member countries and stakeholders. It is also a clear sign of the strong and brotherly cooperation between the IDB Group and Indonesia. As you may be aware, IDB has recently celebrated its 40th Anniversary. Thanks to Allah (SWT), we have come a long way since the early days of inception. During this 40-year long

2 journey, the IDB has always enjoyed the pronounced support of Indonesia as a founding member of the Bank. I remember my first meeting with former World Bank President Wolfensohn when he took office in At that time, he told me that he was admiring the IDB, being a development organization with a heart. I believe that the heart of the IDB is the people, who have served this organization with their sincere dedication. In particular, I would appreciate the great contributions of Ex-IDB Governors, Alternate Governors, Executives Directors, Vice Presidents and Directors Generals throughout the IDB Group s successful journey. In this regard, you will join me all in recognizing the personal contribution of H.E. Prof. Dr. Bambang Brodjonegoro during his service at the IDB as the Director General of Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), and contributions of other colleagues from Indonesia, some of whom are among us today. It is a purposeful decision to open the IDB Group s Country Gateway Office here, given Indonesia s historical and increasing role at the global level, and its strong relations with the IDB member countries. The IDB is particularly proud of the excellent relations between Indonesia and good numbers of other OIC member countries in the region. I would also like to further commend Indonesia s exemplary solidarity-based relations with the African continent (i.e. building small dams in Nigeria) and Asia region (i.e. improving the breeds of domestic animals through artificial insemination in Kyrgyz Republic) which are expanding at an increasing pace. In this regard, I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Indonesia for providing US$2 million for IDB s Reverse Linkages initiative and Indonesia s South-South Cooperation program in This would set an example for wider replication of this mutually beneficial initiative of supporting the exchange of technical know-how among the IDB member countries. Indonesia s leadership in this endeavour deserves commendation and appreciation. We also feel some pride to have worked in solidarity with Indonesia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other partners in providing relief to the Tsunami-affected people in the Aceh Province, particularly through a human development initiative under the OIC Alliance

3 for Child Victims and reconstruction and development under Saudi Charity Campaign Program, with a total funding of US$74 million. Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen Looking forward, I trust that the Country Gateway Office will Insha Allah be instrumental in further promoting and facilitating joint initiatives between the IDB Group and Indonesia. I have a firm belief that this office will help make this a reality, given the recent expansion of the IDB Group activities in the country. I am happy to share that, the IDB Group cooperation with Indonesia covered a number of areas including Higher Education, Community-based Development and Infrastructure Development with an overall financing of more than US$4 billion, including US$1.5 billion of trade financing. Under the Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS), IDB was able to significantly scale up its cooperation, as during the MCPS , US$1.5 billion worth of project and trade financing was provided which represents about 40% of the whole IDB Group portfolio in Indonesia since inception. IDB would continue to support the broad strategic thrusts of our partnership strategy i.e. Infrastructure and Private Sector Development through a repeater MCPS to be launched soon. Indonesia, the only country from Southeast Asia region in G20, is playing a key important role. Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey are also the only OIC Member Countries in the G20. We appreciate Indonesia s role in G20 for taking care of interest of our member countries and we stand ready to provide all kind of cooperation needed for the best interest of Ummah. Having the world s largest Muslim population and experiencing sustained economic growth of over 5 percent, Indonesia continues to show the way for realizing the potential for development of Islamic Finance. Currently, Indonesia has emerged as a leading country in the world in terms of growth of Islamic Banking Industry. The IDB has supported the integrated development of the Islamic Finance Sector through various initiatives in key areas such as building the enabling environment for Islamic Finance; establishing and promoting Islamic financial institutions such as providing equity of US$70 million (or 33 percent of total equity) in Bank Muamalat; establishing and supporting Islamic Financial Infrastructure Institutions and contributing to the development of Islamic financial architecture in Indonesia.

4 Currently, IDB is also developing mechanisms to support enhancement of financial inclusion by launching an Islamic microfinance fund. Leveraging on its key strengths, the IDB Group Country Gateway Office will serve as a platform for all entities of the IDB Group to effectively identify and implement projects and programs, expand cooperation in Islamic financial products and services, trade and project financing, and technical and advisory services, both in public and private sectors. The Office will also result in more effective management of IDB Group s portfolio in Indonesia and for generating more business opportunities particularly in transportation, energy and publicprivate partnership. The Country Gateway Office will also support capacity development in Islamic Finance and Reverse Linkages through the Flagship Programs of Indonesia s South- South and Triangular Cooperation. All in all, the IDB Group s local presence in Indonesia is a promising initiative Insha Allah to facilitate and galvanize the future cooperation with all stakeholders, including the Government, private sector, academia, civil society, and the development partners. The IDB will continue its strategic consultation with H.E. the IDB Governor for Indonesia in order to finalize a roadmap for achieving the envisaged goals. This Office is surely expected to lay the institutional foundation to reach these highly valued targets. Since the Senior Professionals of all IDB Group private entities (ICD, ITFC, ICIEC) will be represented in the Office, I would urge the Indonesian business community and Chamber of Commerce and Industry to take full advantage of Bank s private windows. In order to enhance intra-trade, they need to organize more frequent exhibitions in other IDB member countries and vice versa. We appreciate the recent initiative of the private sector in organizing Second Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development in Jakarta in March 2014, with the key objective to support capacity building for the economic development of Palestine. Your Excellency Towards the end of my speech, let me take this opportunity to introduce our Resident Representative Br. Ibrahim Shoukry and our Operations Portfolio Manager Br. Ishtiaq Akbar in the Indonesia Office. Both brothers have vast and excellent exposure of the IDB Group s operational activities and we have full confidence in their abilities to lead the Country

5 Gateway Office while ensuring that the office meets its objectives to a level that satisfies the Government of Indonesia and the Bank Group. I am confident that this Office will greatly contribute to strengthening the cooperation and business relationship, both in the public and private sectors, between Indonesia and other OIC Members Countries, in East Asia, in Middle East, in Africa and in other parts of the Islamic World. In this regard, I would like to invite Businessmen and Businesswomen Associations, Banks Associations, Chambers of Commerce and Industry and all Financial and Commercial Institutions in all parts and Islands of Indonesia to utilize and benefit from the IDBG Gateway Office to enhance and strengthen their relationships with all other IDB Member Countries. I would like to suggest twinship to be established between Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Chambers of Commerce in other Member Countries. We would like to see more Indonesian trade fairs and exhibitions to be organized in other IDB Member Countries as well as Other IDB Member Countries to be invited to arrange trade fairs and exhibitions in Indonesia. In closing, I wish to again thank you all for your participation in this memorable ceremony. I would also like to thank colleagues from the Government of Indonesia and IDB Group who worked very hard for the organization of this successful event. I would like to re-affirm the IDB s commitment to continue to be an active partner of Indonesia, and to capitalize on its experience for the benefit of its member countries. In line with the IDB motto Together we build a better future, I am confident that this new Office will be privileged to work closely with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning (BAPPENAS), as well as other Indonesian Government agencies to make significant contributions to the well-being of our People. May Allah (SWT) grant this Office success in carrying out this noble mission. وبا التوفيق Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarakatuh