Islamic Dev’t Bank Contributes $7Bn Towards Dev’t Financing

President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG), Dr Bandar Hajjar

Marrakesh, Morocco, April 13, 2019/-The President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG), Dr Bandar Hajjar, has disclosed that three development financing members of the Group (IsDB, ICD and ITFC) all together approved a total of $7 billion on 313 development financing operations in 2018.

He made this known when he opened bank’s 44th Annual Meeting in Marrakesh.

These development financing operations were targeted to provide the critical enablers for the economic transformation of 57 member-countries as their road to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to him.

Furthermore, the ICIEC delivered $9 billion in business insured in 2018, which represents a 20 percent increase from the $7.5 billion registered in 2017, Dr Hajjar added.

The IsDB Group comprises the IsDB and its entities: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD); International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC); Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC) and the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI).

In fulfillment of its core mandate of supporting social and economic development of member countries, the IsDB has cumulatively financed development projects to the tune of $138.4 billion, from its inception in 1975 to 31 December 2018.

As a dynamic international development institution, the IsDB is making efforts to develop new strategies to respond to the fast-changing global development landscape to be able to better support member countries to achieve their development aspirations in tandem with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

It is for this reason that the theme of this year’s Annual Meeting is “Transformation in a fast-Changing World: A Road to Sustainable Development Goals”.

Dr Hajjar said: “We need to be constantly finding new, innovative ways to approach development in our fast-evolving world. It is for this reason that the IsDB’s 44th Annual Meeting will facilitate dialogue on the need for a new development model that aims to provide focused, integrated and holistic solutions for IsDB Member Countries, focusing on root causes of development challenges rather than symptoms.

Never has the need for cooperation and partnership been of such paramount importance as it is today and I look forward to discussing our new vision with representatives from our Member Countries in Marrakesh.”

Across regional classification of member countries, 49 percent were to member countries in MENA and Europe, 30 percent for those in Africa and Latin America, 20 percent to member countries in Asia, the remaining one percent going to non-member countries and regional projects.

Total approvals

Total approvals from Ordinary Capital Resource (OCR) were $1.1 billion for 27 operations. In terms of sectoral distribution of OCR approvals, 31 percent were for Energy, 19 percent for Transport, 14 percent for Agriculture,14 percent for Health, 13 percent for Education and nine percent went to Water, Sanitation and Urban Services.

Each of these sectors is directly or indirectly relevant to achieving various SDGs such as SDG1-No Poverty; SDG2-Zero hunger; SDG3- Good health and well-being; SDG7-Affordable and Clean Energy; SDG8-Decent work and economic growth as well as SDG11-Sustainable cities and communities.

Among members of the IsDB Group

The amount of ITFC’s total approvals of $5.2 billion is the highest, accounting for 74 percent of total IsDB Group approvals in 2018.

Approvals from IsDB Ordinary Capital Resource (OCR) are 1.1 billion, which translate into 15.3 percent of total IsDB Group approvals in 2018 as the focus during the year was on project implementation and delivery of previously approved projects with less emphasis on new approvals.

ICD’s total approvals in 2018 of $0.5 billion represented about 7 percent of total IsDB Group approvals in 2018. The Awqaf Properties Investment Fund (APIF) approved $44.8 million to co-finance five projects with a combined total of $157 million, a 14 percent increase from 2017.

The ICD Funds approved $40 million in 2018, representing an 18 percent decrease compared to 2017.

 IsDB sustained the momentum

Apart from financing of development activities, the IsDB sustained the momentum of reorganization by continuing the reform and consolidating on new initiatives such as the President’s Five-Year Program (P5P).

Decentralization activities were enhanced leading to seven of the 11 Regional Hubs being fully operational during the year. A new branding with a new logo was unveiled while the Science Technology and Innovation (STI) Fund broadened its activities for supporting STI-driven entrepreneurship.

Furthermore, the IsDB Scholarships Program was revamped with new eligibility criteria and broadening of the fields of study to align with the SDGs.

Moreover, measures such as Presidential dashboard and digitization were adopted to improve administrative processes while human resource management system has been overhauled to reflect the decentralization agenda of the new strategic vision.

African Eye Report

 

 

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