Washington DC 14 October 2017: The President of Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Dr. Bandar Hajjar has pledged to conduct a robust study on the competitive advantage of countries like Djibouti in order to tackle development challenges such as unemployment and youth development.

Dr. Hajjar made the remarks when he received Djibouti’s Minister of Finance and Economy Mr. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh on the sidelines of the World Bank Annual Meeting in Washington.

“This study will help our member countries to achieve their potential, create employment and promote entrepreneurship. We are studying how we can have presence in each region through decentralization. This would help as to be more proactive and respond to the needs of our member countries. What we request from our member countries is to submit projects that have a comprehensive procurement plan, feasibility studies and implementation plan.” Dr. Hajjar added.

Speaking during the visit, Mr. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh stated that Djibouti needs IsDB support in tackling unemployment and supporting the government in its new strategy for promoting entrepreneurship.

Mr. Dawaleh added that IsDB has provided tremendous support in the establishment of ICT infrastructure and the development of the health sector. However, more support is needed in tourism and urbanization of some regions of the country. He then expressed the support of Djibouti on the ongoing reforms at IsDB, particularly on the decentralization of IsDB operations.