Paris, France, 24 May 2023 – Ahead of the 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) in Paris, Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, held a meeting with the Director General of the French Treasury, Mr. Emmanuel Moulin, to promote Green Sukuk and Sustainability Sukuk as sustainable finance instruments and the important role they can play in scaling-up funding opportunities to achieve net zero targets. 

The discussions centered around the need to plug the massive financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that has further widened in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that evolved into a global economic crisis. President Al Jasser emphasized on the need to scale-up Green Sukuk and Sustainability Sukuk, which were also cited as ‘sustainable finance instruments’ by the Sustainable Finance Working Group of the G20 last year. 

The IsDB Chief highlighted the extensive development work that the Bank has undertaken in numerous Francophone countries, especially in Africa, for sustainable development. He stated that the Realigned Strategy of the Bank stresses on poverty alleviation, food security, climate action, and building resilience for better preparedness. He also affirmed that the Bank’s operations will be 100% aligned with the Paris Agreement by the end of this year.  

Mr. Emmanuel Moulin, on his side, welcomed President Al Jasser and his delegation and expressed strong interest in further exchange of knowledge on Sukuk and its processes. He commended the efforts that go into maintaining IsDB’s top-tier AAA ratings and reaffirmed the need for Multilateral Development Banks to continue leveraging on their AAA ratings. Mr. Moulin also seized the opportunity to inform President Al Jasser about the upcoming summit for a “New Global Financial Pact” that the President of France, H.E. Emmanuel Macron will convene next month in Paris. “With this summit, President Macron wants to make a clear push for financial institutions to work better, MDBs, national and local development banks to direct finance to developing countries,” he stated.

President Al Jasser is leading a high-level delegation to the 2023 AGM of ICMA, which is the global industry forum for Debt Capital Markets (DCM) with more than 600 firm members from 65 jurisdictions. He is accompanied by the Bank’s Vice President (Finance) and CFO Dr. Zamir Iqbal and senior officials from IsDB’s Treasury Department.

The Sukuk market is a rapidly growing 20-year-old segment of the Islamic finance industry. To date, IsDB has issued more than US$ 42 billion worth of Sukuk, with US$ 22 billion currently outstanding. The Sukuk proceeds are deployed towards sustainable development projects in IsDB Member Countries. IsDB has also issued more than US$ 5 billion in Green Sukuk and Sustainability Sukuk issuances.