ISLAMABAD: The government and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) signed here on Tuesday a grant agreement for provision of 10 mobile clinics for rural areas.

IDB President Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, who was in Islamabad on a short visit, signed the agreement with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

Dr Ali also attended the 11th Board of Trustees’ meeting of the International Islamic University.

The agreement provides for supply and operation for five years of state-of-the-art mobile clinics specialised in primary health care and for awareness, prenatal care and obstetrics, immunisation, treatment and diagnosis of malnutrition among children, basic laboratory tests, diagnostic ultrasound, X-ray and treatment of chronic diseases, clinical and early detection of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes, eye surgery and detection of cataract, dialysis and monitoring and discovering epidemic diseases.

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The IDB is providing Pakistan short- and long-term credit of $1.5 billion and $1.30bn for various development projects.

The minister praised the IDB’s role in promoting Islamic banking and thanked its chief for enhancing the commodity Murabaha financing for the import of oil and urea as well as for his support to the polio eradication programme.

Mr Dar said the government had prioritised economic revival as a key policy objective and intended to pursue it in consultation with the development partners and stakeholders. He said the IDB was Pakistan’s most honoured development partner.

He said the government intended to strengthen its cooperation with the IDB.

Dr Ali said: “It is great to see Pakistan moving towards progress and prosperity. We would like to help Pakistan in the promotion of Islamic banking as much as we can.”

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2015

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