Almaty, Kazakhstan, 10-11 October 2022 – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Regional Hub Almaty (RHA) team arranged its first-ever retreat to mark the 25^th anniversary of establishment of RH office in the region. A two-day retreat was held from 10 to 11 October 2022 at Alatau Swissotel, Almaty and was attended by RHA staff, Field Representative for Uzbekistan and special guest from HQ, Mr. Emil Qasimov, Legal Counsel.

The event started with welcome remarks by RH head, Mr. Ibrahim Shoukry who noted that the main purpose of the retreat was to celebrate the anniversary, to reconnect the team members and renew the team spirit after the pandemic and full return to the office.

Mr. Anasse Aissami, Director General Country Programs delivered a keynote speech during which he conveyed his congratulations to the staff on this occasion and appreciation for their efforts and hard work for serving the Ummah, improving and increasing IsDB portfolio and maintaining the Bank’s positive reputation and image in the region.

The two day program included teamwork indoor and outdoor activities, Myers-Briggs Personality Type assessment, staff presentations on most critical topics pre-defined by voting before the retreat. The major issues featured by the groups included:

•           Improving communication and collaboration

•           Capacity building of RHA staff

•           Respect for diversity and celebrating team culture

During the active discussions, the colleagues underlined that RHA needs to explore ways to be more strategic, impactful, innovative, and achieve business excellence through interactive sessions from time to time like this retreat.