The Beginning
The former visionary leaders of the Islamic Ummah, namely the late King Faisal Bin Abdelaziz of Saudi Arabia, and the late Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj the First Prime Minister of Malaysia, (may Allah Bless their souls), as leaders in the OIC in the early 70s had a clear vision and understanding of the premonitions of the Islamic Ummah and foresaw the needs to cooperate and help each other by setting up an institution that would serve this purpose. 

Their ambition and dream was realized when the Islamic Development Bank was established in 1975. At that time only 22 member states joined and a modest authorized capital of 2 billion Islamic Dinars was declared. The First Board of Governors was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1975, and HE Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali of Saudi Arabia was elected as President and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors. The articles of agreement were ratified and the Bank¡¯s main objectives and functions were approved which centered on promoting economic development and social progress in member countries and Muslim communities in non member countries in accordance with Islamic Shariah. 


Establishment
The Islamic Development Bank is an international financial institution established in pursuance of the Declaration of Intent issued by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim Countries held in Jeddah in Dhul Qa¡¯dah 1393H, corresponding to December 1973. The Inaugural Meeting of the Board of Governors took place in Rajab 1395H, corresponding to July 1975, and the Bank was formally opened on 15 Shawal 1395H corresponding to 20 October 1975.


Purpose
The purpose of the Bank is to foster the economic development and social progress of member countries and Muslim communities individually as well as jointly in accordance with the principles of Shariah.


Functions
The functions of the Bank are:

• To participate in equity capital and grant loans for productive projects and enterprises besides providing financial assistance to member countries in other forms for economic and social development. 
  
• To establish and operate special funds for specific purposes including a fund for assistance to Muslim communities in non-member countries, in addition to setting up trust funds.
  
• To accept deposits and to mobilize financial resources through Shariah compatible modes. 
  
• To assist in the promotion of foreign trade, especially in capital goods, among member countries; 
  
• To provide technical assistance to member countries
  
• To extend training facilities for personnel engaged in development activities in Muslim countries to conform to the Shariah.

Membership
The present membership of the Bank consists of 55 countries. The basic condition for membership is that the prospective member country should be a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, pay its contribution to the capital of the Bank and be willing to accept such terms and conditions as may be decided upon by the IDB Board of Governors.

Capital
Up to the end of 1412H (June 1992), the authorized capital of the Bank was two billion Islamic Dinars. Since Muharram 1413H (July 1992), in accordance with a Resolution of the Board of Governors, it became six billion Islamic Dinars, divided into 600,000 shares having a par value of 10,000 Islamic Dinars each. 

Its subscribed capital also became four billion Islamic Dinars payable according to specific schedules and in freely convertible currency acceptable to the Bank. In 1422H, the board of governors at its annual meeting held in Algeria decided to increase the authorized capital of the Bank form ID six billion to ID fifteen billion and the subscribed capital from ID 4.1 billion to ID 8.1 billion.(The value of the Islamic Dinar, which is the accounting unit in the Bank, is equivalent to one SDR -Special Drawing Right- of the International Monetary Fund).


Head Office and Regional Offices
The Bank's principal office is in Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Two regional offices were opened in 1994; one in Rabat, Morocco, and the other in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In July 1996, the board of Executive Directors also approved the establishment of an IDB Representative Office at Almaty, Kazakhstan, to serve as a link between IDB member countries and Central Asian Republics. 

The office became operational in July 1997 and is now a full-fledged Regional Office. The Bank also has field representatives in eleven member countries. These are: Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Libya, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania and Algeria.


Financial Year
The Bank's financial year is the lunar Hijra Year.


Language
The official language of the Bank is Arabic, but English and French are additionally used as working languages.


Progress over the years
Most people at that time doubted that such a great ambition and noble objective would be realized, however, with strong commitment, wise leadership, and continuous support from the member states, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) had made giant strides and leaps in 30 years during which the following major achievements were made:  

• Membership had grown from 22 to 55 countries spanning from South East Asia, to the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa to as far as Europe and Central America.
  
• Authorized Capital had quadrupled from two to fifteen billion Islamic Dinars (The Islamic Dinar is a unit of account equals to SDR of the IMF).
  
• Islamic modes of finance had been developed from simple equity shareholding and soft loans, to Murabaha, Musharaka, Mudarabah, and Istitsnaa.
  
• Staff strength grew from 20 to 836 highly trained professionals from 36 member countries.
  
• Approvals in member countries had grown by 10-15% annually to reach U.S. $38 billions by 2005.
  
• Mobilization of additional resources from the market by issuing Islamic Bonds (Sukuk) and the rating of IDB as AAA+ by Standard & Poors. 
  

30th Annual Meeting Of The IDB Board Of Governors 
The 30th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors is scheduled to be held on 16-17 Jumadil Awwal 1426H (23-24 June 2005) in Putrajaya, Malaysia's new administrative capital. The event will be hosted by the Government of Malaysia. In addition to the Governors, Alternate Governors and delegations from IDB member countries, the meeting will be attended by representatives of National Development Financing Institutions (NDFIs) in IDB member countries and international and regional financing organizations co-operating with the IDB such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, OIC specialized organizations and United Nations bodies.