$1.2bln of agreements signed at Islamic Development Bank conference in Uzbekistan

TASHKENT: About 30 finance agreements valued at $1.2 billion were signed between the Islamic Development Bank and 10 member countries at the IsDB’s annual meeting in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, according to Chairman Mohammed Al-Jasser.

The agreements provided funding for projects in areas including health (COVID-19 and vaccines), water and sanitation, agriculture, transport, energy, food security, Islamic finance and SMEs, of which $330 million was allocated to the Republic of Uzbekistan, Al-Jasser said in his closing remarks.

“Recognizing that the pandemic has significantly changed the development landscape in IsDB member countries, three main forward-looking themes were considered: (i) Boosting COVID-19 recovery; (ii) tackling increasing poverty and building resilience and prosperity; and (iii) driving green economic growth in member countries,” said Al-Jasser, a former governor of the Saudi Central Bank who was appointed to his role at the IsDB in July.

Among the initiatives launched in Tashkent was the $100 million Economic Empowerment Fund for Uzbekistan (EEFU), which target 34,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. The size of the fund may increase to as much as $500 million.

The government of Uzbekistan will contribute 35 percent to the initial $100 million, the IsDB will contribute 20 percent and the remaining 45 percent will mainly come from Saudi investors, the IsDB said on Sept. 3

More than 4,100 participants from 46 member countries attended this year’s IsDB annual meeting, and 27 international and regional partner organizations joined the in- person meetings, Al-Jasser said.

The IsDB organized 16 webinars that attracted more than 100 countries and were attended by more than 6,000 participants and 150 speakers, he said.