TASHKENT

Uzbekistan will host the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group’s 2021 annual meetings of its Boards of Governors from August 31 to September 4 this year in the capital city of Tashkent that is expected to gather more than 2,000 officials, bankers, finances and experts.

IsDB said that the meeting would be attended by 57 governors of the IsDB, who were primarily ministers of finance, economy, planning, and international cooperation, central bankers, and other high-ranking ministers from member countries, as well as high profile representatives from other multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the international development community, business sector, civil society, academia, media, and other stakeholders.

They expect to discuss development issues and institutional matters pertaining to their member countries amid the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the world economy.

The meeting will mainly delve into the complex issue of dealing with current challenges occasioned by the pandemic and as well vaccine availability to contribute to spearheading an inclusive economic recovery within the Member Countries and global level, the bank said.

“The meetings, under extreme COVID precautions, offer an ideal platform for decision-makers to discuss challenges and explore IsDB Group member countries’ opportunities,” it said in a statement.

A number of subjects will be covered in the seminars and side-events will include building resilience amid the COVID-19, showcasing innovation for tomorrow through Transform Fund, rebuilding resilient global value chains as a pathway to global economic recovery as well as discussing youth development issues and jobs creation among other interesting topics.

Uzbekistan has the largest Muslim population in the Central Asian region and it has joined the IsDB in September 2003.

The bank has since then provided significant development assistance, worth approximately $2 billion. In 2018, Uzbekistan’s government and IsDB signed a Partnership Strategy for 2018-2021 focused on supporting sustainable socio-economic development in the country through several bilateral and regional initiatives.

The Annual Meetings also constitute an occasion during which the other members of the IsDB Group hold their General Assemblies.

Rated AAA by the major rating agencies, the Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral development bank that has been working for over 45 years to improve the lives of the communities it serves by delivering impact at scale. The Bank brings together 57-Member Countries across four continents, touching the lives of 1 in 5 of the world population.