On the sidelines of the Islamic Development Bank’s 2026 Annual Meetings, Baku is hosting the 14th Private Sector Forum. Held from June 16 to 19, this event brings together public policymakers, investors, and business leaders to discuss trade and investment issues. Institutions from the IDB Group are presenting their combined results, exceeding $139 billion in guarantees and $96 billion in trade finance.
The 14th Private Sector Forum of the Islamic Development Bank Group, held on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank Group, brought together policymakers, experts, and entrepreneurs from the 57 member countries. Dialogue sessions, B2B meetings, a startup competition, and a Halal Economy Leaders Forum structured strategic exchanges focused on investment and regional cooperation.
“We work with local banks throughout the world, whereby we extend lines of finance, and then these banks will channel it to where it’s needed most, the private sector and especially SMEs.“
Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, President IsDB – Saudi Arabia
The major achievements of the Group’s entities illustrate a robust support dynamic. The private sector development arm has accumulated approvals of $7.1 billion, with an injection of $661.9 million for SMEs in 2025, supporting 179,000 jobs. For its part, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investments and Export Credits deployed a volume of guarantees exceeding $139 billion, divided between $108 billion for trade and $31 billion devoted to direct investment flows.
“And we’ll continue to do so. We do so also when I talk about the capacity building, through a number of important regional programs. So we have something called the Arab African Trade Bridges, that’s one program.“
Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, President IsDB – Saudi Arabia
Since its establishment in 2008, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation has generated over $96 billion in flows, including $20 billion specifically directed towards SMEs and private sector actors. In fiscal year 2025 alone, the volume of approvals reached $9.3 billion, supporting 120,000 jobs and 546 entities. President Al Jasser emphasized the imperative of removing structural barriers and minimizing risks to ensure shared prosperity among all member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
