Islamic bank meetings kick off in Riyadh

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) annual meetings kicked off on Saturday in the Saudi capital, under the patronage of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. Islamic funding experts, financial ministers, representatives of financial institutions, private sector and non-governmental organizations meet over three days. The governors' roundtable, the 18th IsDB global forum on Islamic finance, the IsDB group private sector forum 2024, the philanthropy forum, and the future vision symposium are among the annual meetings. The conferees discuss in a session a strategy on economic potential, in addition to some other gatherings, that shows the bank's commitment to enhancing economic growth. The agenda contains sessions on special knowledge sharing, seminars and press conferences that highlight development, regional cooperation and Islamic finance. Meanwhile, Mohammad Al Jasser, Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group, said the world needs USD 15 trillion to bridge the gap in funding infrastructure by 2040. Sp eaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Al Jasser pointed to the inability of general financial mechanisms to meet growing infrastructure projects demand to address challenges and provide required funding for long-term investments. "Today, we are facing many challenges caused by the Covid-19 that are the depletion of public resources and a decline in development performance," he said. A third of the least developed countries (LDCs) live in worse conditions than that before the pandemic, he said. "If we do not take an urgent action, these countries may be exposed to more deterioration and their future ambitions will be further affected," he elaborated. Al Jasser referred to the role of Islamic finance as compatible with the requirements of the LDCs for long-term infrastructure projects. He noted that it is asset-based financing and risk sharing that are the principles consistent with the requirements of long-term infrastructure projects in these countries. Islamic financing focuses on environmental respo nsibility and has al potential to support these endeavors, he stated. The IsDB is a multilateral pioneering bank whose ranking was AAA. The meetings coincide with IsDB's golden jubilee, as the corporation marks 50 years of enhancing economic and social development in 57 member countries. Source: Kuwait News Agency