Doha, Qatar, 21 November 2022 – Leading a high-profile delegation, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, is attending the SDG Moment during Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 from the 20th of November to the 22nd of November 2022.

The SDG moment was created to be a yearly event whose mandate is to serve as a wake-up call to remind the inhabitants of the planet, particularly the officials and governments, of what needs to be done to spearhead the achievement of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals and transform them into reality.

On this occasion, Dr. Al Jasser participated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Marathon event launched alongside the opening of the FIFA World Cup. The event shed light on the progress and implementation of the 2030 Agenda where IsDB Group is honored to be the main partner for SDG1 (No poverty).

Addressing the participants, the IsDB Group Chairman said: “Sport plays a significant role in achieving the SDGs as it is a powerful tool to promote peace, tolerance and understanding, bringing people together across boundaries, cultures, and religions. The World Cup presents to nations an opportunity to globally unify and unite under one language without barriers. The intrinsic values of Sports such as teamwork, fairness, discipline, and respect are understood all over the world and can be utilized in the advancement of solidarity and social cohesion.” He then added: “By utilizing the power of football, the IsDB Group is planning to work with the best players to sponsor some of its programs supporting the most vulnerable groups.”

Dr. Al Jasser elaborated on how IsDB Group has been actively supporting its 57 member countries in their efforts to achieve SDGs through development interventions in various sectors including education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, water, climate action, and women and youth employment programs.

He said the Bank has been addressing the financing gaps through working more closely with several international development players including United Nations Development Agencies. “Among our other strategic partnerships, I can mention our close collaboration with key partners such as the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KS Relief), Qatar Fund for Development and Gates Foundation that has led to the establishment of the US$2.5 billion Lives and Livelihoods Fund based on a shared vision of supporting and assisting the more disenfranchised communities in the Bank's member countries,” he stated. 

The IsDB Group Chairman also referred to the partnership between Qatar’s Education Above All (EAA) with IsDB Group’s Poverty Alleviation, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) through an Out-Of-School Children Program financed by the EAA, ISFD, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and other development partners. “In this regard, the EAA is a strategic partner, that has contributed US$100 million to the program. The Bank and EAA are carrying out the implementation of the program through member countries governments and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs),” he said.

Elsewhere in his intervention, the IsDB President referred to the Bank’s realigned Strategy adding that the strategy aims at stepping up the recovery from the economic downturn inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises, while laying out new foundations to tackle poverty, build greater prosperity, and spur a sustainable, inclusive, and green economic growth.

“Our realigned strategy is revolving around two priority areas: (i) green, resilient and sustainable infrastructure and (ii) comprehensive and inclusive human capital development including capacity development for women and youth,” he noted.

To tackle the global challenges on Food- Security, IsDB Group has recently approved an ambitious comprehensive Food Security Response Program (FRSP) amounting to US$10.54 billion to support member countries and, most importantly, scale up the Group's continued efforts to contribute to build resilience to food security shocks in the future.

The IsDB Group has supported the development of two state-of-the-art stadiums in Senegal and Cameroon; interventions that have contributed to a significant role to harness the power of football and sports and to promote social cohesion and inclusive sustainable development.