Jakarta, Indonesia, 15 May 2016 – A joint seminar of the Arab Coordination Group institutions will take place at the Jakarta Convention Center on Tuesday, 17 May 2016 from 1:30 to 3:30 P.M.

The Coordination Group, comprised of 10 bilateral and multilateral development financing institutions mainly from the Arab region, which coordinates financing efforts for major projects and programs that exceed the capacity of any single institution.

The seminar, being held on the margins of the 41st Annual Meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, will hold discussions on the implementation of the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Climate Change Agenda. It will cover four critical themes:
• The Coordination Group’s contribution to development across the world, especially in the South and South-East Asia region
• The needs and priorities of the partner countries to further enhance development cooperation
• The role of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) in enhancing development cooperation
• The role GPEDC can play to effectively realize the SDGs

The seminar will be addressed by the President of IsDB, the Minister of Finance of Indonesia, the Minister of Finance of Malaysia, the Deputy Minister National Planning of Indonesia, and the Senior Secretary of Economic Relations Division for Bangladesh.

Representatives of the Co-Chairs of the GPEDC from the Netherlands will present the progress made on the international development effectiveness agenda and the objectives of the forthcoming 2nd High-Level Meeting of the GPEDC to be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 28 November to 1 December 2016.

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) will provide its perspective on how the Coordination Group is enhancing development effectiveness to support the implementation of SDGs in developing countries.

The seminar provides an opportunity for partner countries and the international development financing community to discuss implementation of the SDGs and measures for making development cooperation more effective, based on principles agreed in Busan and Mexico. Two successful projects financed by the Coordination Group, one in Indonesia and one in Turkey, will be presented by the beneficiary countries.

Participants will include local dignitaries, ministers, senior officials and delegations from IsDB member countries. Representatives of international and regional organizations and the local diplomatic community based in Jakarta will also attend.

Coordination Group (CG) comprises 10 institutions namely; (i) the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (ii) Arab Monetary Fund, (iii) the Arab Bank for Economic and Social Development in Africa, (iv) the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, (v) the OPEC Fund for International Development, (vi) the Islamic Development Bank Group, (vii) the Saudi Fund for Development, (viii) the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, (ix) the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and (x) the Qatar
Development Fund.