CAIRO - 2 June 2022: The Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) announced the inauguration of its regional office in Cairo to become its first regional center in Egypt.
This came on the sidelines of the group’s 2022 annual meetings under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, in which the ministers of economy, planning and finance of the member countries of the Bank participate, along with many officials of governments, international and regional organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society, with the aim of discussing many economic, financial and development issues of common interest.
The new headquarter joins a series of branches of the group spread in several countries around the world, which work to support the sustainable development goals because of its experience of more than forty-five years, touching the lives of 1 in 5 of the world’s population, according to a statement.
The IsDB seeks to build partnerships between governments and the private sector in order to add tangible value to the economies and societies of developing countries. This is achieved through three main axes: fighting poverty, achieving comprehensive and sustainable growth, and paying attention to the green economy, in addition to strengthening cooperation among member states of 57 countries, with the aim of improving the social and economic conditions of all members of society.
The group's development pattern is based on finding solutions to the most important development challenges in the world, achieving the sustainable development goals of the United Nations, and promoting development based on sustainable ethical financing structures that comply with the provisions of Islamic Sharia in the long term.
President of the ISDB, Mohamed Suleiman Al-Jasser, said that the establishment of a regional headquarters for the Bank Group in Egypt comes from the Bank’s keenness to strengthen cooperation and coordination with development partners, in addition to establishing strong partnerships with private sector institutions and civil society institutions to mobilize the necessary resources to support development efforts in Egypt and the Arab countries that fall under the responsibility of the Regional Center, which includes in addition to Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon , Syria, Iraq, Palestine.
Regarding the choice of Cairo as the headquarter for this center, he added: "Egypt is one of the largest contributors to the capital of the Islamic Development Bank. It is also one of the largest countries that benefit from the Bank Group's financing in various fields of development, especially in the areas of energy, financing for small and medium enterprises, health, education, trade and private sector support.
For her part, Minister of Planning Hala El-Said stated that Egypt’s strategic development partnership with the Islamic development Bank (IsDB) exceeds $17 billion, including the implementation of about 367 projects in Egypt.
El-Said elaborated that 303 projects were completed until the end of March 2022, with a value exceeding $10 billion, in addition to about 64 projects under implementation, with an estimated value of $7 billion, in various development sectors, including industry and mining, energy, finance, agriculture, education, health, water and sanitation, real estate, information and communication technology, transportation, and other various fields.
This came during the launch of the official opening ceremony of the regional office of the Islamic Development Bank Group in Cairo, under the patronage of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli, during the activities of the 47th annual meetings of the IsDB, held in Sharm El-Sheikh, from 1 to 4 June, under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
During her speech at the ceremony, El-Said explained that the opening of the regional office of the Islamic Development Bank Group came in implementation of the agreement signed between Egypt and the Bank on October 4, 2018, to represent the Cairo office; the eleventh regional office of the Bank Group, adding that this reflects the expansion and growth of the group's operations, and the benign trend towards decentralization in project management in order to facilitate the process of field monitoring of projects and thus ensure the achievement of the developmental impact of the Bank's operations and financing.
She added that the bank's selection of Cairo within a series of regional offices is being considered as a culmination of the distinguished level of cooperation and the extended development partnership between the two sides.
El-Said added that what enhances the importance of the bank’s office in Cairo is the role entrusted to it in opening areas for joint cooperation, in addition to its role in managing and following up on existing projects with all concerned parties in Egypt, as well as the neighboring countries served by the office.
She pointed out that the role of the regional office is positively reflected in the development of cooperation and coordination between the various financial institutions that are members of the Bank Group and the Egyptian, Arab and African business community to benefit from the services provided by these institutions.
The minister expressed the Egyptian state's pride in being one of the founding members of the Islamic Development Bank, and her personal pride as well as being the Governor of the Arab Republic of Egypt at the Bank Group for its contribution to consolidating the distinguished strategic development partnership with the IsDB
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