Brussels, Belgium, September 15, 2022 -President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Group Chairman, HE Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, met with Jutta Urpilainen, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships. The IsDB-EU bilateral meeting coincided with the 2022 Arab-DAC Dialogue on Development, which was hosted the EU on 15^th September in Brussels.

Dr. Al Jasser and Commissioner Urpilainen  reviewed cooperation between the IsDB and the European Union and discussed a number of topical issues of mutual interest. They agreed to scale-up cooperation in a number of areas, including infrastructure investment, especially under the EU’s EUR300 billion Global Gateway, fragility and resilience. Both agreed on the importance of helping partner countries to manage the green and digital transitions. Dr Al Jasser underlined the importance of joined up collective action in fragile situations be it as it may in the Horn of Africa or in Central Asia, for example.

Separately, Dr. Al Jasser also met with Dr. Justin Vaïsse, Director General of the Paris Peace Forum (PPF), a global peace initiative spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron that brings together annually leaders from both hemispheres to ponder a global vision for peace.  “As a member of the Steering Committee of the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy, and Finance, IsDB monitors closely the spillover from the situation in Eastern Europe and potential impact on IsDB member countries”, Dr. Al Jasser explained. “PPF’s work and priorities remain of great interest to IsDB and make a compelling case for our partnership to continue,” the IsDB President concluded.