AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah and IsDB President Dr Muhammad Al Jasser reviewed progress during talks at IsDB headquarters in Jeddah.
The 2024-2029 Cooperation Framework targets $4 billion in financing for public and private-sector operations.
Projects worth $2.65 billion have already been approved, representing 66% of the target. “The African Development Bank is a strategic partner of the IsDB Group in advancing Africa’s development priorities,” Al Jasser said.
“We want to build on this strong partnership to increase co-financing, strengthen project preparation and implementation and mobilise more public and private capital.”
The two institutions aim to improve cooperation on project preparation, implementation and resource mobilisation to deliver measurable development benefits.
Ould Tah said progress during the first two years demonstrated that the institutions could pursue more ambitious financing targets. “This proves that we can do much better,” Ould Tah said.
Ould Tah called for stronger coordination on the ground and greater participation by other development partners, particularly members of the Arab Coordination Group.
The discussions built on a January 2026 declaration involving AfDB and the Arab Coordination Group, which called for stronger Arab-African financing cooperation.
Ould Tah also presented the New African Financial Architecture for Development, an initiative designed to mobilise more domestic resources for the continent’s development.
African Heads of State adopted the initiative in Addis Ababa in February before leaders of Africa’s financial institutions endorsed the 11-point Abidjan Consensus in April.
The framework seeks to mobilise African savings to help close the continent’s estimated annual financing gap of $400 billion. “Africa does not lack resources; it lacks instruments and coordination,” Ould Tah said.
Ould Tah commended Arab Coordination Group investments addressing water, healthcare, education, sanitation, agriculture and infrastructure.
Ould Tah also proposed regular progress meetings and reduced duplication in project evaluation, procurement and due-diligence processes.
“We must not duplicate evaluation, procurement or due diligence processes,” Ould Tah said. “We must complement one another.”
–AfDB/ChannelAfrica–
