Ankara, Turkey, 12 September 2018 – At the premises of its Regional Hub in the Turkish capital city of Ankara, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group celebrated September 12th, the UN Day for South-South Cooperation (SCC), by soft-launching a landmark publication on one of its major flagship programs known as the “Reverse Linkage” mechanism.

The publication, entitled: “Reverse Linkage: Development Through South-South Cooperation”, bears the cooperation signature of 30 of IsDB’s development partners from its member and non-member countries, reflecting the achievements of the Bank in promoting South-South Cooperation over the years.

Reverse Linkage is a triangular program that connects a country seeking expertise in knowledge, expertise and technology, with a member country that has abundant pioneering expertise in the field required by the beneficiary member country, while IsDB serves as a facilitator.

Partnership for development is a key pillar of the IsDB Group’s President’s 5-Year Program (P5P) now under implementation. On the occasion, IsDB Group President, H.E. Dr. Bandar Hajjar, has said: “the publication is a significant addition to the body of knowledge on South-South Cooperation and a source of inspiration for many. It will offer opportunities to generate new ideas to solve development challenges through solidarity-based partnerships and crowd-based arrangements and, thus, unleash the full potential of South-South Cooperation.”

The Republic of Turkey is one of the pioneers of “South-South Cooperation” amongst 57 member countries of the Islamic Development Bank and, in the past years, has played a leading role in many “Reverse Linkage” Programs in several countries.  

The soft-launching of the IsDB publication was attended by H.E. Mr. Mehmet Süreyya Er, Vice President, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) and H.E. Musa KULAKLIKAYA, Director General, of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

In his welcoming remarks, the Regional Director of the IsDB Group Regional Hub in Turkey, Mr. Saleh Jelassi, referred to the recent transformation of the IsDB Group from a “development bank” to a “bank of developers” which “is playing an active role to connect and engage different stakeholders and partners to ensure the economic and social well-being of its member countries. “IsDB is the only South-South Multilateral Development Bank (MDB),” he added. 

Mr. Mehmet  Süreyya  Er, Vice President, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) stated: "As TIKA,  we are very pleased to have a strong and firm cooperation with IsDB and expressed hope that that the existing cooperation with IsDB will be enhanced significantly to contribute to the eradication of poverty."

H.E. Musa Kulaklıkaya, Director General, SESRIC, emphasized: “IsDB’s Reverse Linkage Program is a very successful modality of cooperation, knowledge sharing amongst countries and solidarity.  The gain from reverse linkages, valuable for both the provider and beneficiary side: is a Win-Win situation. It impacts integration in the global economy in many areas, such as investment, financial flows, Foreign Direct Investment, industrialization, job creation, etc. As SESRIC, we are very proud of being a partner in this important platform and want to increase our contribution.”

In recent years, through Reverse Linkage, IsDB has effectively worked on expanding partnerships with regional development institutions, bilateral cooperation agencies, resource centers, and other types of partners to promote South-South Cooperation.