ANKARA

Comprising 57 member countries, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) has elected a new president.

Muhammed Sulaiman Al Jasser, Saudi Arabia’s former economy and planning minister, will now lead the finance institution for the next five years, according to a statement from the bank late Sunday.

The bank’s board of governors passed the draft resolution to appoint Al Jasser based on a statement from IsDB’s general secretariat in a virtual meeting held on July 6.

Al-Jasser, who has a PhD in economics from the University of California, is currently an adviser at the General Secretariat of the Saudi Council of Ministers, with the rank of a minister.​​​​​​​

The IsDB was established in 1973 by members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and started operations two years later.

The bank works to contribute to the social and economic development of its member states, and Muslim communities individually in line with the principles of Islam.