Bern, Switzerland, 28 March, 2017 - The Islamic Development Bank, IsDB, took part at the High Level Dialogue on Development between the Arab Coordination Group and traditional donors and members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).

The 2017 Dialogue was held on 27 March 2017 in Bern, Switzerland hosted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The Arab-DAC Dialogue on Development has been an annual event since 2009 as a platform for exchange of ideas, sharing good practices, promoting mutual learning, and identifying opportunities for joint action on important development issues. The 2017 Dialogue was held in the backdrop of a fast changing global development landscape with increasing conflicts and fragility across many countries, while the implementation of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the Climate
Change Agenda.

The 2017 Arab and OECD-DAC donors Dialogue deliberated on the roles of two major groups of donors in implementing the SDGs. It explored inclusive financing mechanisms, and adjusting development cooperation tools to ensure sustainable development. Other key topics discussed included (i) sharing good practices on implementing effective development cooperation, (ii) promoting joint action on education in fragile settings and (iii) the progress made by the two joint Task Force on Energy for the Poor
and on Education in fragile context were discussed and actions were agreed to take the work forward.

The co-chairs of the Dialogue were Madam Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Chair of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD, and Suleiman Herbish, Director General OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). They reiterated that closer collaboration between the two major blocks of donors is imperative for the attainment of the SDGs and Principles of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC). Another key speaker, Mr. Manuel Sager, Director General of the SDC,
elaborated on the on-going discussions with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for effective implementation of the SDGs. The event was attended by all Arab Donors, major bilateral donors and a number of international development financing institutions.

On 28 March 2018, the SDC organized the Arab-Swiss Water Day to discuss ways and means to realize the Goal-6 of the 2030 Agenda on Water and Sanitation for All. The discussions focused on promoting durable and innovative approaches to ensure sustainable water management. The two panel discussion sessions deliberated on (i) ensuring sustainability of investment to achieve water and sanitation for all, and (ii) how Private Sector participation can be supported in order to achieve water and
sanitation.

The Annual Dialogue between Arab Coordination Group and the OECD-DAC donors has promoted greater understanding and enhanced collaboration for implementing international development agenda.