Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 14 February 2022 – Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President, Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, received in his office at IsDB headquarters in Jeddah,  Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer, FAO Assistant DG/Regional Representative for NENA to discuss the partnership between the two institutions and cooperation between them in regional member countries.

The meeting discussed how the two institutions can work together to achieve food and water security, agricultural development as well as environmental protection. The agricultural experiences of many IsDB member countries in the region were reviewed focusing on country comparative advantages, lessons learned from their experience, and the means for utilizing such knowledge and expertise to increase the region’s capacity in food production.

Dr. Al Jasser emphasized that food and water security are strategic priorities for IsDB member countries, expressing the Bank’s desire to continue working with FAO to address the challenges facing member countries by harnessing market forces and global knowledge resources, primarily through investment in Agribusiness.

Dr. El Waer briefed the IsDB President on the engagement of the FAO in the region and the different fields of its operations. He also touched on FAO’s developing relations with IsDB and the available opportunities for cooperation between the two institutions.

In line with the MoU and building on achievements, the IsDB-FAO Action Plan (2020-2022) will continue to focus on scaling-up ongoing initiatives and exploring new opportunities to collaborate on global, regional, and country-level priorities for the effective realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in areas including: project development, implementation, and support capacity development in key areas, such as (i) Agribusiness Value Chains; (ii) Water; (iii) Agricultural Research and Development/Science and Technology and Innovation (STI); (iv) Statistics; as well as (v) Climate Change, Crisis Response and Recovery, Poverty Reduction, Women's and Youth Empowerment, and Disaster Risk Reduction, amongst others.

IsDB’s new strategy “Promoting comprehensive human development and sustainable infrastructure” in which agri-food industry is a key sector that will drive Bank’s efforts to supporting member countries alleviate poverty, achieve food security, generate employment opportunities, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The two sides discussed the importance of private sector investment in the agri-food sector and how to best support member countries in the region and develop necessary institutional and regulatory frameworks. The meeting also agreed to explore possibility of developing food security and livelihoods development programs for the fragile countries in the region that will re-build rural productive assets and strengthen community resilience to climate variability with emphasis on climate-smart agriculture. 

FAO offered supporting IsDB in project preparation of agriculture-related project and provide the necessary expertise and the necessary know-how.  This could include provision of support by FAO to IsDB to ensure quality at entry, during the approval, implementation, financing, and execution of projects.

Promoting systematic institutional cooperation – from broadening channels of information exchange, research, analysis, and contacts, to promoting Economic Empowerment, South-South and Triangular Cooperation through Reverse Linkage and Technical Cooperation at regional and national levels, staff exchange opportunities, key events, and joint monitoring and communications to operationalize the MoU and action plan.