Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, 4 June 2022  – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Board of Governors in its 47^th Annual Meeting held on 3^rd June 2022 endorsed the IsDB’s Strategic Realignment for the period 2023-2025. This exercise was initiated based on the guidance provided by the Governors during the Governors’ Roundtable held at the 46^th Annual Meeting of IsDB Group held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in September 2021.

In view of the Governors’ pressing call for strategic realignment of the Bank amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the Bank initiated the repositioning of the Bank in order to effectively help its Member Countries (MCs) to tackle the multitude of challenges they are facing. The medium-term strategic direction of the Bank has therefore been realigned with the MCs’ evolving needs given the global economic recovery is facing significant headwinds amidst the ongoing negative impact of COVID-19 and the Eastern European conflict.

The pandemic and the Eastern European conflict have translated into higher prices of critical food items and fuel. Furthermore, the food security situation is further aggravated by the drought in Eastern Africa affecting millions of people. These factors are further exacerbating the prospects of early recovery and further increased uncertainties.

In this global context, the IsDB’s Strategic Realignment (2023-2025) was undertaken, founded upon a widely inclusive and consultative process to help the MCs address these challenges effectively. It has three focus areas namely: (i) Boosting recovery; (ii) Tackling poverty and building resilience; and (iii) Driving green economic growth.

The Bank’s interventions in the next 3 years will be driven by two key pillars. The First Pillar aims at supporting Green, Resilient and Sustainable infrastructure. It will cover 6 critical infrastructure sectors namely: (i) Clean and Renewable Energy; (ii) Sustainable Multi-model Transport; (iii) Agriculture and Rural Development; (iv) Information and Communication Technology & Digitization; (v) Social Infrastructure; and (vi) Urban Development, Water and Sanitation. The Second  Pillar will cover promoting inclusive human capital development focusing on 5 complementary sectors and thematic areas, namely: (i) Universal Healthcare / services; (ii) Resilient and Quality Education; (iii) Nutrition and Food Security; (iv) Social Protection; and (v) MSMEs and Job Creation.

The four cross-cutting enabling areas that support the two pillars are Islamic Finance, Climate Change, Women and Youth, and Capacity Development. The IsDB’s Strategic Realignment’s  Implementation will be driven by four guiding principles: (i) to be responsive to MCs; (ii) to be results driven; (iii) to ensure regional presences is further strengthened and empowered; and (iv) for IsDB Group comprising the six entities to work as a single unit under the  “One Group- One Goal” approach aimed at offering holistic and complementarity services to MCs.

In order to effectively implement the strategy, the Bank’s support will originate from and be driven by the National Plans of MCs. The support will also be adaptive to the diverse needs of MCs and use technologies to effectively deliver development financing and knowledge services.

Furthermore, the IsDB Group will expand development partnerships and mobilize additional financing and also scale-up its own financing with the materialization of 6^th General Capital Increase. In addition, beside development financing it will also provide value added knowledge services to MCs. The Bank will enhance its organizational efficiency and development effectiveness, empower field staff with clear accountability and put the right people in the right places that will enable it to effectively deliver on the Strategic Realignment 2023-2025.