New partnership will co-ordinate development projects and co-financing.
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), have signed an agreement that will boost their co-financing of development projects in common member countries across Africa.
In the past ten years, IsDB and BADEA have co-financed projects in the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Senegal, Chad, Niger, Togo and Mozambique. While these co-financing operations covered a highly diverse selection of sectors ranging from sanitation to transport, the new agreement will seek to do more by bringing collaboration under a formal structure.
IsDB president, Dr. Bandar Hajjar, said: “The partnership we signed today will allow us to co-create financing and investment programs that will not only address key development challenges but will also help our member countries tap into emerging global value chain opportunities to build resilience and create wealth in post Covid-19 world.”
Unemployment and poverty rates across developing countries are rising, so it is hoped that the co-financing of development projects will help to leverage greater funds to support economic recovery after the pandemic.
The agreement comprises key areas of collaboration such as joint diagnostic work, procurement and capacity assessments, as well as sharing of pipelines and annual work programmes. There will be additional attention paid to special initiatives that support inclusive social development and science, technology and innovation.
Trade promotion is important to both organisations and trade development and facilitation is included in the agreement under the Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Programme. AATB is mandated to drive regional economic integration between African and Arab regions. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic it has focused extensively on healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors although recovery plans are seeing it return to its wider remit.