Paris, France, 26 January 2015 – Heading a senior delegation to the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ali, Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group on Monday delivered a key note statement at the 2015 Arab Coordination Group – OECD/DAC (Development Assistance Committee) High Level Dialogue on Development.

Speaking to the session focusing on “reducing trade and investment costs to promote private sector development”, Dr. Ali provided perspectives and highlighted efforts of the Arab Coordination Group Institutions (ACGIs). He called for right policies for achieving sustainable economic growth, with the private sector and especially the SMEs playing an important role in promoting innovation and jobs creation. The IDB Group Chairman further emphasized the need for achieving greater regional
integration by supporting trade-related infrastructure and reinforcing the development of regional markets.

The heads of the ACGI and OECD-DAC held the high-level dialogue against the backdrop of the on-going global political and economic situation and the emerging post-2015 development agenda. Over 200 delegations representing international donor communities attended the forum which was co-chaired by Mr. Abdullatif Al-Hamad, Director General, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and Mr. Erik Solheim, Chair of the OECD-DAC. HE Sheikha Lubna, Minister of International Co-operation and
Development, the United Arab Emirates, delivered the inaugural statement calling for well-coordinated, coherent and results-oriented development cooperation. The Dialogue aimed at deliberating on emerging developmental issues and identifying opportunities for cooperation amongst Arab countries/institutions and bilateral donors represented in the DAC.

The forum also saw high-level round-table discussions on the three topics of the agenda: “ensuring sustainable energy for all”, “reducing trade and investment costs to promote private sector contribution to development”, and “strengthening means of implementation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

The session on “Ensuring Sustainable Energy for All” deliberated on addressing the critical energy needs of the poor especially in the least developed countries, utilizing new technologies for clean energy and encouraging greater engagement of the private sector in increasing affordable and sustainable sources of energy. Commitments were expressed on identifying and mobilizing additional financial resources domestically, increasing international development assistance and encouraging private
sector investment to meet the growing energy needs of the developing countries.

The session on trade and private sector discussed key issues that developing countries are facing in promoting trade and private sector development. The speakers called for facilitation of trade and investment for greater integration of land-locked countries with the global markets.

Furthermore, the participants of the Dialogue emphasized boosting of cooperation for successful adoption and implementation of SDGs. The importance of availability of a platform of global partnership for effective development cooperation was also emphasized. The need was underlined for building institutional capacity of countries to implement and monitor new SDGs. The heads of ACGI and OECD/DAC then reaffirmed their commitment toward working together with recipient countries in realizing the
SDGs.

The Dialogue recognized the importance of collaboration between two major groups of providers of development assistance. Common understanding was reached on the new global agenda and the Arab-DAC donors agreed to establish a task force to develop a common platform for increasing access to energy for the poor with focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. The forum, also agreed to strengthen the on-going cooperation on regular reporting on development assistance and publishing joint success stories. The OFID
extended an invitation for the next annual dialogue to be held in Vienna during the first quarter of 2016.