IDB President Bandar Hajjar

Abidjan (IINA) : President of the Islamic Development Bank (DB) Group Dr. Bandar Hajjar called on member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to join hands in tackling poverty, youth unemployment and fragility.

Hajjar made the call during a reception organized by the IDB in honor of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The IDB president stated that, of the 1.75 billion youth population in the world, 500 million or 28.5 percent live in OIC member countries. He, therefore, stressed the need to work together in harnessing the potential of the youth so that they become an asset to the society.

“This can be done by developing special programs for their advancement, facilitating economic empowerment opportunities for them by enhancing the quality of education, establishing business incubators to build the capacities of youth in entrepreneurship, facilitating financing for SMEs, improving the business environment, and integrating young people in socioeconomic development programs.’’ Hajjar said.

He stated that the IDB has implemented several initiatives on youth development, including the Youth Employment Support (YES) program; the Education for Employment (E4E) initiative; and the Vocational Literacy Program (VOLIP).

Hajjar told the foreign ministers that there are 73 million unemployed youth in OIC member countries. Therefore, the IDB Group organized a Youth Summit during its 42nd Annual Meeting in Jeddah on May 14-18. He added that the summit recommended the establishment of Youth Community Forum in order to promote solidarity, cooperation and knowledge sharing.

The IDB president further noted that the bank is reviewing its projects in member countries to ensure that they promote entrepreneurship and capacity building.