Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
My warmest congratulations to the Islamic Development Bank on this milestone anniversary.
For fifty years you have been an engine of sustainable development:
Helping communities feed themselves;
Investing in infrastructure;
And bringing the benefits and joy of education to people around the world.
Your work has made a vital contribution to your Member Countries and to Muslim communities across the globe – particularly in the face of recent crises.
And it will remain essential in the future.
Our world faces grave challenges:
The lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic;
High levels of debt that are choking many developing countries’ economies;
And a climate crisis hitting the poorest, hardest.
As a result, the Sustainable Development Goals are way off track.
Multilateral Development Banks are vital to turning the tide.
We are relying on you to rapidly scale up long-term affordable finance – including by mobilising far more private finance.
This is critical if countries are to have the means to invest in sustainable development and climate action.
The United Nations is your partner and your ally in these efforts.
And I wish you all the very best for the next fifty years.
Thank you.