Islamic bank, Turkey to expand cooperation

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group will expand its cooperation with Turkey through major transactions worth more than $500 million in Istanbul next week.

The deals will be signed at the 35th Ministerial Meeting of the Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC) on Nov. 27, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Two major projects, Gaziray Suburban Line and Light Rail Transit Project (€63 million) and Kayseri Light Rail Transit Project (€30 million) will be part of the deals.

Turkey's High Speed Train Sets Project (€312 million) is expected to be inaugurated at a sideline event of the meeting with the attendance of Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan.

The IsDB Group, established in 1975, has 57 member countries in four continents -- Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

It maintains an annual volume of operations of more than $10 billion and a subscribed capital of $70 billion.

Since 1975 to date, the IsDB Group has built a portfolio of 452 development operations in various sectors in Turkey totaling $11.4 billion.