Nairobi, Kenya, 29 May 2024 – Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, states that the strategic partnership between IsDB and the African Development Bank (AfDB) incarnates a firm commitment to a shared vision of transforming the African continent.

Dr. Al Jasser made the remarks on the 3^rd day of African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s 2024 Annual Meetings marking the Bank’s 60^th Anniversary, in Nairobi, Kenya, on 29th May 2024. 

Nearly 3,000 delegates are attending the African Development Bank Group’s 2024 Annual Meetings in Nairobi, from 27 to 31 May among them African heads of state, key ministers, central bank governors, members of the development community, the private sector, and other stakeholders.

In his keynote address to a high-profile event themed “Presidential Dialogue: Africa’s Transformation, the African Development Bank Group, and the Reform of the Global Financial Architecture”, the IsDB President described Africa as a continent full of promise and endowed with abundant resources. “Africa is on the ascend, and I am optimistic about its development prospects,” the IsDB President reiterated.  

IsDB and AfDB share 27 common member countries in which the two banks have been funding joint development projects.  

“Over the past five decades, the Islamic Development Bank Group has remained steadfast in its commitment to Africa's socioeconomic development. By the end of 2023, our financing to Africa totaled approximately US$74 billion, including US$45 billion specifically dedicated to enhancing trade,” the IsDB Group Chairman stated.

Dr. Al Jasser further touched upon the outstanding role that the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) has been playing in fostering development and progress across the African Continent, adding that the ACG has been a long standing supporter of African countries and has accumatively invested over US$220 billion in the region, to date. 

Elsewhere in his keynote address, Dr. Al Jasser said that to foster and sustain development gains, economic growth alone is insufficient and “African countries need to deepen their structural transformation to ensure a prosperous and secure future for all Africans.”

“Our efforts have been significantly strengthened through long-standing cooperation with development partners, including the African Development Bank. Between 2017 and 2023, we achieved a record co-financing volume of US$2.9 billion with the African Development Bank, enabling us to co-finance 22 operations across diverse sectors,” the IsDB President elaborated.

During IsDB’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in Riyadh last April, the two major global development institutions further enhanced their partnership by expanding its scope and setting a higher co-financing target for the next five years.