New York, USA, 18 September 2023 – On the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, and the UN Under-Secretary-General for the Department for Safety and Security, Mr. Gilles Michaud, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday.

The memorandum signifies a shared commitment to leveraging data as a catalyst for development, particularly in the world's least developed regions. The  two leaders highlighted the importance of data-driven strategies in advancing global development  and improving the well-being of vulnerable populations.

The MoU aims to establish strategic partnership in security-related assistance and technical support between the two institutions. 

Speaking during the signing of the agreement, Dr. Al Jasser said he was delighted to sign the agreement with Mr. Michaud. He expressed his commitment to working closely with Mr. Michaud to pursue IsDB Group's bid to become part of the United Nations Security Management System (UNSMS).

"We aim to build on the positive energy and progress we made during this year's UNSMS Symposium in Jeddah by strengthening our collaboration and sharing our knowledge. IsDB is looking for UNSMS leaders' support to improve our security readiness. In return, UNSMS will benefit from IsDB's digital tools and Knowledge Management System (KMS) to improve its security efforts, especially for missions in IsDB's member countries." Dr Al Jasser emphasized.

The MoU provides a non-legally binding framework and reflects the spirit of cooperation between the parties. It will grant IsDB personnel access to UNDSS-developed online and onsite training courses, provide periodic country and region-specific security assessments to a mutually agreed and limited number of IsDB security personnel, and identify relevant U.N. security officers that IsDB personnel may contact for current security information related to specific country or region.