Finance minister in Saudi Arabia

Finance Minister Gillmore Hoefdraad is currently in Saudi Arabia to attend the annual meeting of the Board of Governors in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This is the 42nd meeting of the Board of Governors from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). Suriname reportedly has several projects in the pipeline with the IsDB and the Minister wants to know what the current status of these projects is. IsDB has reportedly set $1.75 billion aside for Surinamese development and investment projects. Suriname will not receive the money because the IsDB will pay the creditors. Suriname reportedly needs finances for the Academic medical Center Suriname (AMC-SU). Construction of the AMC must be complete by 2020. This ultramodern hospital which will reportedly have 510 hospital beds will cost about $60 million. It is not clear if the project will be finished before the 2020 deadline especially given the fact that the finances are not actually available yet. Suriname and Guyana are the only two countries on the Western Hemisphere that are members of the IsDB.

A total of $453 million worth of infrastructure projects for five member states has been approved by the Board of Executive Directors (BED) of the Islamic Development Bank, IsDB. The beneficiary countries are Tunisia, Suriname, Turkey, Uganda and Jordan. “Building the infrastructure of our member countries is important in order to accelerate development activities, “said Dr. Bandar Hajjar, IsDB President, “Infrastructure development generates other benefits, including employment opportunities and alleviation of poverty, he added, noting that the meeting addressed in detail youth economic empowerment and the significant opportunities created for youth through infrastructure projects. The BED also approved three special assistance projects worth $580,000 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kenya and Rwanda.