GI Hub Islamic Development Bank PPP Forum Rabat

The GI Hub was invited by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to speak at the Bank’s 2019 Public Private Partnership Forum, held in Rabat on 28 February 2019. This event, which was the second PPP Forum organised by the IsDB, was co-sponsored by the Kingdom of Morocco – which has a very active national PPP program.

The GI Hub’s Chief Operating Officer, Mark Moseley, was asked to join a panel discussing the topic of “Unlocking Financing Solutions: Innovative Mechanisms for PPPs”. One of the subjects discussed by the panel was how to address the barriers to private participation in infrastructure, particularly in African countries. In this regard, Mr. Moseley highlighted the GI Hub’s updated InfraCompass report, which provides guidance to governments, including a number of African states, on specific policy reforms that can facilitate private infrastructure investment. Mr. Moseley also referred to the information on proposed African infrastructure projects that is available to investors on the GI Hub’s Global Project Pipeline database, and he encouraged the government representatives in the audience to add their projects to the Pipeline. Lastly, Mr. Moseley drew attention to the Hub’s new capacity-building initiative, the African Infrastructure Fellowship Program.

The IsDB Forum was a well-attended event, with active participation from the Bank’s member countries in Africa and on other continents. There was an extensive discussion of the use of Islamic Finance for PPP projects, embodying the risk-sharing principles that are embedded in Sharia law. The keynote speaker at the event was His Excellency Dr. Bandar M H Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group, who emphasised the Bank’s commitment to promoting private investment in infrastructure. Correspondingly, in his remarks, Mr. Moseley stressed the willingness of the GI Hub to work closely with the IsDB to help it achieve this objective.