Tashkent, 02/09/2021

The private sector institutions of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group: 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 the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) in cooperation with IsDB Group Business Forum (THIQAH) organized the "Private Sector Forum" on September 2, 2021, in Tashkent - the Republic of Uzbekistan, in conjunction with the 46^th Annual Board of Governors Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group, under the theme "Respond, Restore, Restart: Post-COVID Resilience and Prosperity for all".

The Private Sector Forum highlighted the IsDB Group activities, services, initiatives and joint solutions in member countries on the investment, trade and insurance fronts. The Private Sector Forum provided a unique platform to network and establish business relations and partnerships with other leading representatives and stakeholders from the business community to share their related experience, success stories and best practices, while jointly exploring the investment and trade opportunities offered by CIS countries. Furthermore, the forum connected business communities in member countries by arranging parallel B2B and B2G scheduled meetings.

“…All IsDB Group entities are catalysts of development. Every dollar spent by them brings more activities. I invite you to take advantage of the technical know-how present here. Private sector has a huge role to play in rebooting economies and building back better,’ says Dr. Muhammad  Al Jasser, IsDB President

The Forum discussed the future outlook to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Forum highlighted the IsDB Group's US$ 2.3 billion Strategic Preparedness and Response Program (SPRP) for COVID-19 under its 3Rs approach "Respond, Restore and Restart".

Key outcomes from this session noted considerable progress in terms of launching and implementing the projects involving the growth of trade, investment and insurance in member countries. The sessions also addressed the key challenges limiting the business community and concerned trade and investment authorities of the countries in both CIS and other member countries by nurturing an environment where the parties can benefit from the opportunities that exist.

In his opening address, Mr. Oussama Kaissi, said: “The pandemic is not yet over, but one thing we are certain of is that ICIEC will continue supporting its member countries through its full suite of Shariah-compliant credit and political risk mitigation solutions to overcome this crisis together and adjust to the new collective reality, stronger and more resilient than before.”  

Eng. Hani Salem Sonbol said: “In line with its pandemic Response Plan, ITFC allocated $1.1 billion of financing and launched several development programs to support member countries’ recovery that targeted improving food security, building resilience, and supporting the health and export sectors. Out of the $1.1 billion approved, around $400 million was directed to SMEs, reflecting the focus on supporting SMEs recovery, sustaining agriculture value chains and building capacities. ”

Mr. Ayman Sejiny said “The IsDB Group ‘Strategic Preparedness and Response Facility’ can underpin our joint efforts to not only cope with the crisis, but to overcome it with a concrete, actionable blueprint. ICD’s geographical outreach across 55 member countries, along with its network of over 100 financial institutions and 5 regional offices and their local  linkages, has doubled our collective capabilities and potential to efficiently mitigate the pandemic’s short-term fallout. This collaborative facility is the first of its kind and  designed to unite the power of the public and private sectors to serve humanity in times of emergency.”

The Forum gathered more than 1,000 participants from multiple sectors across the globe such as government officials, Chairmen, Presidents & CEOs of local and international companies, multilateral and financial institutions, Chambers of Commerce & Industry, business associations, investment promotion agencies, individual investors, entrepreneurs, hundreds of policy and decision-makers, as well as their Excellencies the Governors of the Islamic Development Bank.