Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Development Bank is expected to launch its operations with a branch in Gujarat. This will bring in the first bank into the country offering sharia-compliant banking products and services. when the Saudi Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank launches operations in the western state of Gujarat. The decision to establish a branch in India was taken at the time of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia in April and the delegation that accompanied him had signed an extensive agreement with the bank, which included its launch in India. The bank will establish its first Indian branch in Ahmedabad and go on to open more branches in India in the future. It was also agreed that India’s state-owned Exim Bank would extend a $100 million line of credit to facilitate exports to IDB member countries. In addition, the IDB pledged $55 million to provide medical treatment to India’s rural poor. The first 30 of 350 medical vans, donated by the IDB as a social initiative, will be rolled out in Gujarat later this year. No date has yet been announced for the opening of the branch in India.
