Back to the future for IDB's strategy

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has encountered difficulties due to the dysfunctional governance of some of its member states combined with the almost total absence of functioning democracies; yet the IDB has rarely discussed the issue of governance during its annual meetings. Good governance should be a higher priority of the IDB and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), given that economic growth is linked to quality of governance, and that social progress has been impeded by government corruption. Democracy can be compatible with the principles of Islam. Muslim countries should increase trade and investment with each other. IDB should develop a customer charter to increase response times for deals and better serve the needs of customers, as well as to increase its capacity to finance medium and long term projects. The IDB seeks to assist Central Asian countries gain access to the Gulf, improve auditing practices, implement the Ouagadougou Declaration of 2002, and in