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The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) pledged Thursday to help
mobilize funds in the oil-rich Middle East for investing in major
infrastructure projects here.
After a meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla, IDB operations vice
president Amadou Boubacar Crissie told reporters Thursday that the bank
was interested in funding projects in the energy, petrochemicals,
turnpike, airport and housing sectors.
He stressed that Indonesia should take advantage of the region's
financial resources, which were currently overflowing as a result of
massive windfall revenues from soaring oil prices.
Crissie did not mention any figures, however.
The IDB delegation met Kalla as part of the follow-up to his recent
meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in Amman, Jordan, which
was aimed at boosting financial cooperation.
Indonesia is currently in dire need of foreign investment if growth is
to be accelerated and unemployment brought under control.
The country has traditionally sought loans from the Western nations,
Japan and international financial institutions like the World Bank to
help finance its development projects.
However, Crissie warned that IDB loans to Indonesia would have to be
based on the sharia financial system.
This was founded upon Islamic law, which prohibits the receipt or the
charging of interest. Instead, it uses profit-sharing mechanisms to
encourage investment.
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