SPECIAL FEATURE
Independence is crucial for the objectivity and credibility of the
OPEC Fund Development Forum 2023
bank’s development results measurement.
targets, strengthening ownership of response initiatives through stakeholder engagement, strengthening sta ff capacity for designing and implementing emergency response initiatives and institutionalizing emergency response guidelines and processes for increased agility and responsiveness in future crises. To strengthen the emergency response capacity, IsDB has established specialized units and is developing tools to e ff ectively implement emergency and fragility-related strategies and approaches. OFQ : What are lessons learned at IsDB that could benefit other development finance institutions? Ahmed Ag Aboubacrine: First, evaluation capacity development is critical to ensure the development e ff ectiveness of international financiers such as the Arab Coordination Group members. As their evaluation capacity varies, collaboration is crucial to strengthen their capacity. We conducted joint evaluations of co-financed projects with the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) in Togo and Bahrain and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) in Mozambique, Togo and Sierra Leone to promote knowledge sharing and capacity enhancement. Such practices enable harmonization, synergy and learning while lessening the burden on client countries and executing agencies.
Ahmed Ag Aboubacrine, IsDB, Acting Director of Independent Evaluation
“Our projects are now filtered through the prism of climate- friendliness” Muhammad Al Jasser Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Group
OFQ : How is the IsDB supporting its member countries to achieve their climate goals?
Muhammad Al Jasser: First, we’re supporting our member countries as an integral part of the development process, because climate issues are not independent or separate from basic development issues. Nonetheless, we have pledged that 35 percent of all our lending will be climate-friendly by 2025. Second, with the Arab Coordination Group last year we committed to providing US$24 billion to help finance climate-friendly projects. The Islamic Development Bank alone contributed US$13 billion of those US$24 billion. All our projects are now
filtered through the prism of climate-friendliness. We’re not going to stop the development of our countries, but we are going to enhance the climate- friendliness of our projects.
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