The 36th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) along with the annual board meetings and general assemblies of the IDB Group entities kicked off here on Wednesday with finance ministers of IBD\'s 56 member countries attending. \"IDB group is considered a cornerstone in the pan-Arab economic solidarity, \" Chairman of IBD Board of Governors Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi said in the opening speech of the event held under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud. \"IDB is keen on contributing to the economic and social development in member and non-member states,\" he said. For his part, IDB President Ahmad Mohammad Ali highlighted the high rankings of the group from all world financial institutions and the non-stop growth of its financial activities whose value amounted to USD 3.7 billion. \"If the short-term and commercial activities added to this, the total value would go up to USD 70 billion,\" he said. Ministers of Finance, Economy and Planning from 56 IDB member countries participate in the meeting. Several high profile events such as the 276th session of Board of Executive Directors; the signing of a number of agreements with IDB member countries; a number of important seminars; and the presentation of IDB Prizes to this year\'s winners in the fields of Islamic banking and financial services as well as women in development.