Istanbul to host 2-day meeting on fighting poverty

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) will hold a meeting to tackle poverty beginning next week, the groups said Friday.

Within the scope of the two-day event that begins Monday, several managers from the United Nations Development Programme, IsDB and ISFD will address the Regional Hub in Istanbul to discuss saving children, poverty in Africa, socio-economic issues, Islamic and alternative finance, innovation and blockchain opportunities and partnership with the private sector.

The meeting will be preparatory for the "ISFD NGOs Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Program" to be launched Sept. 27 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, according to a statement.

The Poverty Reduction Program, created by IsDB and ISFD with a $10 million contribution, aims to reduce poverty in 57 IsDB Muslim member countries.