Jeddah conference highlights achievements of IsDB Group member countries

Mohammed Al-Jasser, Islamic Development Bank president and group chairman, and Romuald Wadagni, minister of economy and finance of Benin, highlighted key achievements of the IsDB Group during a press conference held as part of the 2023 annual meetings in Jeddah from May 10-13.

The speakers outlined the results achieved by the IsDB Group in stimulating the socio-economic development of member countries during the year 2022 and the challenges faced by the bank this year.

Al-Jasser briefed the media on the vision and objectives of IsDB as a leading AAA-rated multilateral development bank and said it focused on supporting South-South cooperation to find fruitful advance solutions and serve the development priorities of the Muslim world.

He said that since its establishment and up to 2022, the IsDB Group’s net financing for sustainable development programs and initiatives amounted to a total of $170.5 billion. The bank currently serves its 57-member countries from four continents, in addition to Muslim communities from non-member countries, through their respective governments — and its operations impact one-fifth of the world’s population.

Annual net approvals increased by 18.5 percent to reach $10.5 billion in 2022, up from $8.9 billion in 2021. Economic sectors that received IsDB Group’s financial support during the past year included energy (40.8 percent), industry and mining (14.4 percent), agriculture (12.6 percent), finance (8.6 percent), transportation (8.5 percent), water and sanitation (4.8 percent), health (3.6 percent), education (3.2 percent) and others (3.5 percent).

“The focus of our operations in 2022 was on building partnerships to mobilize resources, alleviate poverty and increase food security and resilience, in addition to increasing green growth and sustainable development with the help of our partners and stakeholders,” Al-Jasser said.

He outlined the bank’s achievements and said that IsDB had maintained its “AAA” credit rating with a stable outlook in 2022. It was the 26th time that the bank had achieved this rating from S&P Global Ratings, the 16th time from Moody’s, and the 15th time from Fitch Ratings.

Al-Jasser said that this year’s annual meeting would provide a dynamic platform to discuss economic, financial and development issues of interest to member countries and their partners. The bank had built strong partnerships with member countries and other stakeholders in the developing world as well as launched a major strategy, update and realignment exercise to adapt and adjust its activities and investment priorities.

Benin’s Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni said: “On behalf of the board of governors of the IsDB, I commend the management and board of executive directors for their insights and deep commitment to supporting member countries to achieve sustainable development.

“Their visionary thinking and emerging development challenges facing member countries prompted the realignment of the strategic direction of the IsDB Group to focus on promoting comprehensive human development and sustainable infrastructure toward boosting economic recovery, tackling poverty, building resilience, and driving green economic growth,” he said.

Held under the theme of “Partnerships to fend off crises,” the four-day 2023 IsDB Group annual meetings seek to provide a solution-oriented platform for participants to discuss current financial, economic and development issues faced by member countries and partners.