African Development Bank and IsDB review $4 billion financing for Africa projects

Al Jasser described the African Development Bank as a strategic partner in supporting Africa’s development priorities, stressing the need to strengthen project preparation and implementation.

African Development Bank Group President Dr Sidi Ould Tah and Islamic Development Bank Group President Dr Muhammad Al Jasser met in Jeddah to review joint financing and project delivery across 27 African countries that belong to both institutions. Their discussions at the IsDB headquarters focused on a $4 billion co-financing target under the banks' 2024–2029 Cooperation Framework. Approved operations have reached $2.65 billion, equivalent to 66 per cent of the target, covering both sovereign and non-sovereign financing.

The meeting followed the January 2026 Joint Declaration between the African Development Bank Group and the Arab Coordination Group, of which the IsDB is a member. The IsDB called for the Arab-African partnership to produce concrete co-financing arrangements and initiatives that bring additional funding into development projects. Both leaders discussed stronger coordination to help turn their financing commitments into results for their shared member countries.

Al Jasser described the African Development Bank as a strategic partner in supporting Africa's development priorities, stressing the need to strengthen project preparation and implementation. He called for increased co-financing and greater mobilisation of public and private capital to deliver lasting development benefits. His remarks placed project delivery alongside funding as a central priority for the relationship between the two institutions.

Bank leaders see room for greater joint financing

Speaking during an IsDB fireside discussion, Ould Tah welcomed progress under the partnership, saying the banks had signed a memorandum of understanding and reached 66 per cent of the financing target in less than two years. He expressed confidence that the banks could pursue more ambitious targets through closer coordination on the ground and the involvement of additional partners. He identified the Arab Coordination Group as an important partner, recognised the IsDB's leading role within it and thanked Al Jasser for his support.

African financial framework seeks to mobilise domestic savings

Ould Tah presented the New African Financial Architecture for Development, NAFAD, which the African Development Bank Group's Board approved at its Annual Meetings in Brazzaville in May. African heads of state had earlier adopted the framework in Addis Ababa in February, and leaders of Africa's financial ecosystem adopted it through the Abidjan Consensus in April 2026. The eleven-point consensus seeks to mobilise Africa's domestic savings to help close an estimated annual funding gap of $400 billion, reflecting Ould Tah's view that the continent needs better financial instruments and coordination to put its resources to work.

Closer coordination to support essential services

Ould Tah praised the Arab Coordination Group's support for projects addressing basic needs, including water, health, education, sanitation, agriculture and infrastructure. He proposed regular meetings to review progress and strengthen mutual trust, giving the institutions a continuing opportunity to improve cooperation. He called on partners to avoid duplicating evaluation, procurement and due diligence processes so their work could complement one another and support more effective project delivery.