OIC seeks to develop microfinance in member states

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Wednesday 10 Jun 2015 - 18:03 Makkah mean time-23-8-1436 Maputo (IINA) - Iyad Ameen Madani, secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said that the pan Islamic body is implementing a specific plan to develop microfinance institutions in its member states. He made the remarks in an address to the 40th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group held in Maputo, Mozambique, on Wednesday. The speech was delivered on behalf of Madani by Assistant Secretary General of OIC for Economic Affairs Ambassador Hameed A. Opeloyeru, according to an OIC statement. Madani called on the board to approve the implementation of a number of decisions issued at the 42nd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, including the convening of a Workshop for Microfinance institutions in OIC member states and conferences to introduce Islamic Social Finance, Sadaqa (charity), Zakat and Waqf (endowment). Madani said the aim of the microfinance workshop is to begin a platform to share and deepen understanding of Islamic microfinance models, best practices, governance and standards developed by OIC member states. The workshop would also facilitate developing an OIC Action Plan on Microfinance Development, drawing on the experiences gained through the implementation of the Islamic Solidarity Bank for Development (ISFD) and the Special Program for the Development of Africa (SPDA). Madani also drew attention to other issues which require the approval of the Board, and that include the execution of the Dakar-Bamako-Sikasso-Bobo-Dioulasso railway segment of the OIC Dakar-Port Sudan Railway Project in partnership with the African Union and the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The secretary general also called for the mobilization of additional resources for the ISFD; the Council of Foreign Ministers has requested the convening of a special session during its next session that is to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2016, to mobilize additional resources to enable the ISFD to expand its activities to benefit the poor in priority areas. This includes supporting microfinance, food security and vocational training. He also said that the OIC plans to set up a program to succeed the SPDA as a way of consolidating on the gains realized under the first SPDA which was adopted in November 2012 and in which the Council of Foreign Ministers decided to conduct two semi-regional workshops during the coming year to facilitate the development of a comprehensive development plan for members to focus on. Madani added that the proposed convening of the OIC Stakeholders Forum on Unified Halal Food Standards and Procedures is crucial in creating a binding OIC Halal Food Standard, including an OIC-wide consensus on harmonized accreditation and certification procedures. A regulatory environment of this nature is needed in the current stage to streamline the activities of certification centers in respect to Halal food and products. Madani also stressed the close collaboration between the General Secretariat of the OIC and the management of the IDB Group, which has resulted in the successful convening of the First Investment Forum on Central Asia that was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on October 27-28 2014. A number of projects were identified at the forum, including the flagship hydro-energy transmission project. HA/IINA