Establishment
The Islamic Development Bank is an
international financial institution established in pursuance of the Declaration
of Intent issued by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries
held in Jeddah in Dhul Q'adah 1393H, corresponding to December 1973. The
Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors took place in Rajab 1395H,
corresponding to July 1975, and the Bank was formally opened on 15 Shawwal
1395H corresponding to 20 October 1975.
Purpose
The purpose of the Bank is to foster the
economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim
communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with the principles
of Shari'ah i.e., Islamic Law.
Functions
The functions of the Bank are to participate
in equity capital and grant loans for productive projects and enterprises besides providing financial
assistance to member countries in other forms for economic and social
development. The Bank is also required to establish and operate special funds for specific purposes including a fund for
assistance to Muslim communities in non-member countries, in addition to
setting up trust funds. The Bank is authorized to accept deposits and to
mobilize financial resources through Shari'ah compatible modes. It is also
charged with the responsibility of assisting in the promotion of foriegn trade especially in capital goods, among member
countries; providing technical assistance to member countries; and extending
training facilities for personnel engaged in development activities in Muslim
countries to conform to the Shari'ah.
Membership
The present membership of the Bank consists of 57 countries. The basic condition for membership is that
the prospective member country should be a member of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation (OIC), pay its contribution to the capital of the Bank and
be willing to accept such terms and conditions as may be decided upon by the
IDB Board of Governors.
Capital
As per the decision of the 38th Annual Meeting
of the Board of Governors, the authorized capital of the IDB was raised to ID 100 billion and its subscribed capital to ID 50 billion.
Head
Office and Regional Offices
The Bank's principal office is in Jeddah in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Four regional offices were opened in Rabat,
Morocco (1994), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1994). Almaty, Kazakhstan (1997), and
Dakar, Senegal (2008). It also has country gateway offices in Ankara &
Istanbul (Turkey), Jakarta (Indonesia), Abuja (Nigeria) and field representatives in 14 member
countries (Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Iran,
Mali, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Mauritania and Libya).
Language
The official language of the Bank is Arabic,
but English and French are additionally used as working languages.