Jeddah, September 10, 2023, At its 352nd meeting in Jeddah, the Board of Executive Directors (BED) of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) gave the go-ahead to spend $800 million on critical projects that will improve the living conditions of the populace in member nations and hasten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to IsDB President Dr. Mohammed Al-Jasser, projects approved in vital fields like energy, education, health, and transportation will help to lessen the socioeconomic difficulties that the population in IsDB member countries faces and will hasten the process of achieving significant SDG targets. The contributions of the IsDB and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) are a multi-sectoral emergency response and provide life-saving support to approximately 125,000 people affected by the sudden outbreak of conflict in Sudan, he continued, noting that the IsDB had made an emergency intervention to support the communities affected by the conflict in Sudan.
IsDB gives the Republic of Guinea $40 million and 48.05 million euros to finance two projects aimed at improving the water, sanitation, and health sectors; gives the Islamic Republic of Mauritania 46.57 million euros; and gives the Republic of Mozambique $19.8 million to improve access to high-quality education in these two countries. It also gives 182.26 million euros to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and 40.25 million euros to the Republic of Senegal to improve transportation and allocates 40
Additionally, BED approved the payment of $5.46 million in IsDB and ISFD contributions to lessen food insecurity in conflict-affected membs, as well as the payment of $200 million to the Kingdom of Bahrain and 61.9 million euros to the Federal Republic of Nigeria for improving electricity transmission and innovation in the energy and information technology sectors, 128.17 million euros to the Republic of Togo for improving infrastructure, and $1.5 million to the Republic of Sudan for aiding those most affected by the conflict.
The projects that the BED approved, according to Al-Jasser, "will significantly impact the attainment of the SDGs' objectives" and were hailed as being transformative.
