The former head of the Islamic Development bank was speaking at the Endowments Committee in Asharqia Chamber: Dr. Ahmed: Islamic Development Bank is open for cooperation in the field of endowments with chambers of commerce.
The former chairman of the Islamic Development Bank, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Ali, spoke about the impact of endowments and its impact on the business sector, and its positive impact on the social life of the societies that concerned with the development of endowments.
The third meeting of Diwaniyah Awqaf was organized by Asharqia Chamber represented by the Awqaf Committee on Wednesday February 7, 2018 and managed by the Chairman of the Committee, Dr. Ayed Al-Qahtani. During this meeting, Dr. Ahmed Bin Mohammed bin Ali emphasized that the Islamic Development Bank is open to cooperation in the field of endowments with all governmental, private and charitable institutions.
He called on the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, all private institutions, and charitable organizations to establish bridges with the Islamic Development Bank and its institutions, e.g., the Islamic Research and Training Institute, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector.
During the meeting, Dr. Ahmed stressed that Asharqia Chamber represented by the Social Responsibility Center contributed greatly in programs and initiatives that help in spreading the culture of the Waqf (endowments) and its importance, and reinforced the concept until its efforts reached all regions of the Kingdom.
Dr. Ahmed explained that it is within the Bank's activities and programs to aim at spreading the Waqf idea. In fact, it actively contributed to the issuance of regulations and laws for the establishment and organization of endowments, and its direct participation in establishing some of these endowments.
It is worth noting that there are almost no endowment projects in the sub-Saharan African Islamic countries. Therefore, the Bank established an endowment in Guinea as a model to encourage the Islamic Waqf in this country especially because of its Muslim majority. The Bank has also worked to urge the Senegalese government to assist in the enactment of a special Waqf law in Senegal.
On the possibility of expanding in the area of social responsibility and spreading the culture of Waqf, Dr. Ahmed said that this comes through the Chambers of commerce and the cooperation with other counterparts in Arab and Western countries, which is the ideal way to continue the march in support of the endowment sector.
He urged the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and the business sector to support the endowment sector and provide models for sustainable business through them.
He pointed out that the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development within the bank was established with a capital of 10 billion dollars to combat poverty of all kinds.
At the end of this meeting, Dr. Ayed Al-Qahtani (the Chairman of the Awqaf Endowment Committee in Asharqia Chamber) honored Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Ali (the former chairman of the Islamic Development Bank) with a memorial plaque.
