H. E. the President of the Republic of Benin Dr. Boni Yayi visited Saturday afternoon 22 Ramadan 1430H the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in Jeddah, at the conclusion of the talks of the ministerial delegation of the Republic of Benin with the Bank.
He was received upon his arrival at the Bank by H.E. Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, the President of IDB Group.
Talks between the Ministerial delegation and the Bank involved many sectors of development in the Republic of Benin, particularly agriculture, roads, education, health, microfinance, and social housing.
President Boni commended the IDB for its constant support to Benin and for the fruitful cooperation between the two sides. He urged for further assistance in order to speed up the wheels of economic and social development in his country.
The President of the Republic noted that the visit of the delegation to the Islamic Development Bank, led by His Excellency, came within the efforts of the Republic of Benin to face the challenges caused by the economic crisis and the global food crisis plus the environmental problems. “Our way for this is through promoting cooperation and coordination with multilateral development institutions in order to accelerate growth and development of the Republic of Benin”, he added.
He commended the Bank’s participation in various fields of development in his country, which reflected positively on the course of development in the Republic of Benin, stressing that the visit was based on the tangible successes achieved, in cooperation with the Bank, and expressed the aspiration for further cooperation in light of the new economic and development priorities of the Republic of Benin.
The President of the Islamic Development Bank thanked the President of Benin on his honorable visit to the Bank to discuss a number of important issues. He also expressed gratitude and appreciation for the continued support given by the Republic of Benin to the Bank's operations and projects in the country. The delegation's visit is a strong message for all multilateral development institutions on the Government’s economic priorities and its keenness to achieve sustainable economic and social development” he added. The President of the Bank praised the economic achievements of the Republic of Benin, thanks to the Government’s tireless efforts at various levels, which reflected positively on the level of economic growth and per capita income.
In the same vein the President of the Republic of Benin had received earlier in the day at his residence in the Conferences Palace in Jeddah, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, President of the IDB. The audience was attended by the members of the high-level ministerial delegation from the Republic of Benin.
The total funding approved by IDB Group in favor of the Republic of Benin to date have exceeded US$ 218 million of which approximately US$ 197 million have been channeled for development projects in the sectors of agriculture, roads, communications, education, health and energy. This in addition to other programs carried out by the Bank’s Group in the areas of trade and supporting private sector programs.