Statement of the IDB Governor for Tunisia The 39 th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors Jeddah Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 26-28 Sha baan 1435H (24-26 June 2014) Original Text Arabic
H.E. the Chairman of the Board of Governors; H.E. the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group; Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatallahi wa barakatuh! Praise be to Allah, the Almighty, the most Gracious and the most Merciful, who has once again enabled us to gather in this assembly in good health and high spirit. It gives me pleasure to begin by expressing, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Tunisia, our profound gratitude and appreciation to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the 39 th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank and for the warm reception and generous hospitality extended to us. I must not forget on this occasion to congratulate His Excellency the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Board of Executive Directors and all staff members of the Bank on the 40 th anniversary of the founding of the Bank. I would like to thank them for their valuable efforts to develop the Bank's activities and work mechanisms which have contributed to promoting development in member countries. I think we all agree that the Islamic Development Bank is a unique example of joint Islamic action and a pioneer in Islamic financing. Therefore, by virtue of the experience it has acquired over the years, it has been serving and continues to serve our economies and contribute effectively to financing vital projects that are of utmost priority in the development programmes of its member countries. These achievements are undoubtedly the natural outcomes of the wise policy options made by those in charge of the Bank's operations over the past forty years on one hand, and of the member countries' continuous support of its efforts on the other. This has enabled the Bank to maintain the highest credit rating from all international credit rating agencies, despite successive financial crises that have impacted international financial markets. It is no wonder that our institution has made a great deal of progress in terms of diversification and enrichment of its functions to become a competitive group rivaling the biggest international and regional banks in its activities. This development in terms of activities has been accompanied by noticeable geographical expansion which has contributed to a large extent to discharging the noble mission for which the Bank was established: to serve the Islamic Ummah in all parts of the globe. Through a forward-looking vision and constructive self-criticism, the Bank has sought to adopt an ongoing development programme through organizational restructuring and reforms that have helped to improve its performance and outputs, especially as it would very soon embark on the final phase of this programme - consolidating its international leadership role.
It is worth mentioning the Bank's achievements in unemployment reduction, poverty alleviation and development of Islamic finance through the introduction of numerous valuable initiatives, notably the youth employment support programme, the education for employment initiative and micro-finance support programme. Recognizing the importance of knowledge, innovation and technology transfer in the shaping of an advanced and open society, the Bank has accorded this aspect the attention it deserves through its annual prizes for innovation and support for science and technology, and through its grant programme in science and high technology and its pioneering role in capacity development through support for training and research in priority areas. We also commend the efforts of the IDB Group in promoting integration between member countries and increasing the volume of intra-trade among them, in consonance with the objective set out in the Ten-Year Programme of Action of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to attain 20% intra-trade by 2015. The Bank's choice of: "Regional Cooperation and Integration" as the theme of this year's annual symposium, reflects its commitment to supporting the levers of cooperation among our Islamic countries to achieve prosperity for our people. Tunisia is today passing through a critical phase of its developmental journey that is full of challenges. At the forefront of these is reducing unemployment, especially among holders of higher degrees, supporting regional balance, improving the standard of living and reducing poverty. These necessarily entail the need for pooling of efforts to spur growth, boost investment and support integration into the global economy. As difficult and critical as our country's transition phase may be, it has not beclouded us from the bright and promising prospects of a new Tunisia. In the political field, the transitional phase in Tunisia is progressing steadily. Our country has been able to consolidate the levers of the transition characterized by total consensus among the various sensibilities and trends. The outcome was the choice of an independent and neutral government whose main task is to take the country to safety and organize free, fair and transparent general elections before the end of this year. This track has been strengthened by the ratification of the country's new constitution that responds to the aspirations of all Tunisians. It also represents a turning point in Tunisia's contemporary history and in the building of a new Tunisia. In the area of economy, knowing the size of what is at stake, we have resolved to continue to adopt the participatory and comprehensive reforms approach to create a business climate that responds to the requirements of development in our country and focuses in particular on greater support for transparency and good governance. On this reform path, we shall institute a new pattern of development based mainly on support of productivity in various productive sectors while concentrating on accelerating development and
encouraging private sector initiatives, in addition to effecting comprehensive reform of the public finance and taxation systems. Tunisia, which is proud of its Arab and Islamic affiliations, continues to widen the scope of its partnerships in order to provide favourable conditions for integration into the global economic circle and support its position on the international roadmap in order to benefit from all the latent opportunities offered by this cooperation. Allow me on this occasion to commend the efforts the Bank continues to make in order to boost economic and social development in our countries through financing of projects in various vital sectors such as energy, health, and dams and rura1 roads. We would also seize this opportunity to thank the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for its efforts aimed at boosting intra-trade from which several countries have benefited. While appreciating the ITFC's initiative on "Aid for Trade Initiative for Arab States", on this occasion we call for a speedy realization of this noble initiative so that our countries can benefit from its advantages in supporting our export capacities. We also commend the Bank's commitment to assist our countries in the first Sukuk issuance operation, which would be a support for the success of this operation thanks to the Bank's repertoire of experience and excellent credit rating. We welcome the strategic partnership established recently in cooperation with the Zaytouna Bank through its subscription to this bank's capital and the creation of an Islamic micro finance institution in Tunisia in recognition of the role of the micro-finance industry as an effective tool of combatting poverty and unemployment, and an important pillar of sustainable development. We commend the fruitfu1 cooperation with the IDB Group and we hope that as part of its next ten year strategy, the Bank will take into account the exceptional circumstances most of our countries are going through by according financing terms and conditions the importance they deserve to enhance its competitiveness and support its position as an effective and strategic partner. I cannot but renew our congratulations to the Islamic Development Bank and all its staff members for all the achievements that have been recorded. We are confident that these results would not have been achieved without the wise leadership, wide knowledge and insight of H.E. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali on many development issues of common concern to member countries, and his effective support for us in confronting the challenges of our time. Based on this conviction, we confirm Tunisia's support for the renewal of his mandate, out of belief in his pioneering role and ability to take our institution to higher levels that would further its standing at both regional and international levels.
Mr. Chairman, In conclusion, I renew my gratitude and appreciation to the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting this meeting and I wish the meeting a successful outcome. Wassalamu alaikum warahmatallahi wabarakatuhu.