“There needs to be a dramatic change in strategy if we are to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”, according to His Excellency, Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
His Excellency set out his new vision for how the world can meet the 2030 targets at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. His visit to Davos will be followed by the release of a new book, written by His Excellency, which explains his plan for a new business model to achieve the SDGs in full.
The President estimates that the finance gap between available government budgets and funds needed for development is over US$ 200 trillion. If Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) can mobilise only 1% of global market capital, trillions of idle and risk-averse dollars can be made to work for development.
Whilst there has been good momentum since 2015 with many sectors and leaders embracing them, evidence shows that at the current rate of progress, the Goals will not be achieved in time, and in many areas, there is a risk of reversing the progress made to date.
Speaking at an event to champion Public-Private Partnerships for the Global Goals in Davos, co-hosted by SDG Advocate Richard Curtis, the Islamic Development Bank, and P4G, Dr. Hajjar said:
“The needs of developing countries feel a long way from Davos. But this is the real world where people are in desperate need of solutions. This year’s Davos theme is “Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” So, I encourage us all to think carefully about how we can harness the power of innovation in this era of unprecedented progress and change, for the benefit of the world’s poorest. Never has the need for cooperation and partnership been of such paramount importance as it is today.”
In his book, Dr. Hajjar will outline that the SDGs represent a new era, raising the level of development finance required from the order of billions to that of trillions and that the sheer magnitude of these challenges is beyond the capacity of any individual institution.
The IsDB is responding to this new era by putting forward a new business model that focuses resources on enhancing countries’ competitiveness in strategic sectors in which they have and can build, a global comparative advantage.
The core pillars of the President’s new business model focuses on:
- Meeting the SDG funding gap
- Upscaling the value chain
- Focus on STI
- Tapping global markets
- PPP
- Catalyst
- Potential of Islamic Finance to unlock growth
Original source: IsDB
Published on 23 January 2019
