Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 17 January 2022 -  The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Regional Cooperation and Integration (RCI) Department jointly organized a virtual event with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the World Bank (WB) to launch the joint Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) Report on “Regional Cooperation and Integration in Asia and The Pacific: Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Building Back Better”.

The report takes stock of MDBs efforts to help countries in the region confront the COVID-19 pandemic, reflects on progress and lessons learned, and deliberates on strategic directions for national and RCI efforts to build back better. It can be downloaded below:

As part of this collaboration with sister MDBs, the RCI Department authored the chapter on “MDBs as Key Partners in Promoting RCI” in the report and produced a short video on the findings of the report which was broadcast during the event. The video is available at the following link: IsDB publications website.

The event was attended by more than 100 participants from MDBs and regional cooperation organizations (RCOs) in Asia and the Pacific.

IsDB’s welcoming address was made by Mr. Amer Bukvic, the Acting Director General - Global Practice & Partnerships, who mentioned that “the joint MDBs report is a very important step forward as it suggests the ways how MDBs and RCOs can align their priorities with the needs of the post-COVID-19 world”. In addition, he underlined the need to better exploit the strengths and experiences of MDBs in order to respond to the changing requirements of their member states. Mr. Bukvic also highlighted that the Islamic Development Bank is keen to play its role in contributing to the MDB’s shared development agenda.

High level representatives from other MDBs, namely, Bambang Susantono (ADB Vice President); Hartwig Schafer (WB Vice President); Joachim von Amsberg (Special Advisor to the AIIB President); and Beata Javorcik (EBRD Chief Economist) joined Mr. Bukvic in emphasizing the need for further MDB-RCO cooperation with a focus on COVID-19 recovery, digital transformation, green growth, regional connectivity, trade facilitation and investment promotion. The event also included a panel discussion on the role of RCI in the development of Asia and The Pacific and ended with the virtual unveiling of the report.