Vienna, Austria, 24 June 2024 – Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, has conferred with President of International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), H.E. Mr. Alvaro Lario.  

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 19^th meetings of Arab Coordination Group (ACG) Heads of Institutions as well as the OPEC Fund Development Forum in the Austrian capital city of Vienna.

During the talks, the IsDB President expressed satisfaction over the long-lasting partnership with IFAD especially a recent co-financing plan of US$500 million, which targets to empower rural areas, harness market forces, and address climate change challenges in the Bank’s member countries.    

The cooperation portfolio between the two global development players stand at more than US$4 billion for agriculture and rural development sectors.

Dr. Al Jasser referred to several IsDB-funded projects that contributed to ensuring global food security. He  highlighted  that in Mid-2022, the IsDB endorsed a US$ 10.54 billion comprehensive Food Security Response Program (FSRP) which supports the Bank’s member countries in addressing the ongoing food crisis. 

He further reiterated that the approval of the funding came at a time when many IsDB member countries were experiencing acute food insecurity in magnitudes not seen since the 2010 global food crisis.  

IsDB is also exploring the opportunity to cooperate with IFAD on Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) to contribute through parallel financing under an upcoming Country Engagement Framework  (CEF) with Cote d’Ivoire.

The CEF is expected to expand the Bank’s intervention. IsDB is expected to undertake a mission to Cote d’Ivoire during the month of July 2024 to discuss the Bank’s overall strategy and future involvement in the agriculture sector, over the next 3 years. 

About Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group  

Rated AAA by the major rating agencies of the world, the Islamic Development Bank is the pioneering multilateral development bank of the Global South that has been working for 50 years to improve the lives of the communities it serves by delivering impact at scale. The Bank brings together 57 Member Countries across four continents, touching the lives of nearly 1 in 5 of the world population. Its mission is to equip people to drive their own economic and social progress at scale, putting the infrastructure in place enabling them to fulfil their potential. Headquartered in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, IsDB has regional hubs and centers of excellence in 11 of its Member Countries.  Over the years, the Bank has evolved from a single entity into a group comprising five entities: Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Islamic Development Bank Institute (IsDBI) tasked with research and training, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). 

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AGhazaleh@isdb.org 

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