The parties discussed issues of further participation of the bank in national investment projects in our country. Kazakhstan is interested in cooperation with the IDB in the framework of the initiative of the First President of Kazakhstan - Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev to develop the "Islamic Infrastructure Integration" strategic program document, which provides for the infrastructure integration of OIC member states.

The Bank's participation in the economic development programs of Kazakhstan demonstrates its firm intention to develop cooperation with our country. “Our goal is to strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan and develop Islamic finance mechanisms in your country. I invite Kazakhstan to take part in the international conference on Sukuk Islamic securities in Luxembourg and send specialists for training through special scholarship programs of the Bank”, said Dr. Hajar.

He also announced that the IDB Science and Technology Fund, with an initial capitalization of $500 million is being created.

The Kazakh side expressed its gratitude to the IDB President for active participation in international events held in Nur-Sultan, in particular the first OIC Summit on science and technology in 2017, the opening ceremony of the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) and the “Astana Finance Days” Forum in 2018.

The issues of cooperation between the Bank and the AIFC, where Dr. Hajjar is a member of the Council for the Management of the Center, were discussed separately. It was noted that the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the IDB and the AIFC contributes to the development of Islamic finance in the CIS region and will allow studying the valuable IDB experience in this area. The Kazakhstani side invited IDB to take an active part in the development of the Islamic financial services industry based on the AIFC and to assist in attracting other Islamic financial institutions to cooperate with this financial center, including by localizing the IDB structures and issuing Sukuk Islamic securities on the AIFC Stock Exchange.

Attention was also paid to Kazakhstan's accelerated completion of the procedure for ratifying the Charter of the International Islamic Corporation for Islamic Finance, which will attract significant financial resources for the development of exports to OIC countries.

Kazakhstan is also actively working in the area of food security, an issue relevant for the whole world. In this regard, the Islamic Development Bank was thanked for the support provided, including within the framework of the Islamic Organization for Food Security, headquartered in Nur-Sultan.

Preparatory work is currently underway to hold the second meeting of the Executive Board of the Institute of Physical Safety and Security in Nur-Sultan and the second session of the General Assembly in Jeddah in August this year.

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Not to editors:

IDB is an international financial institution, which officially began operating in 1975. The headquarters of the Bank are located in Jeddah. The members of the IDB are the 57 OIC member states. The Bank implements promising economic projects on the territory of the OIC member states through equity investments, credits enterprises and programs implemented in the private and public sectors, as well as creates and manages special funds whose activities are aimed at helping Muslim communities in member countries of the Bank. Since its launch, the IDB Group has approved projects in the territory of the OIC member states totaling over $1.3 billion. In 2018, IDB financed projects in Africa, Europe, Latin America and Asia.