The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) related to the cooperation in the education sector in Africa. The objective of the MoU is to support common Member Countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa's Agenda 2063.
IsDB's Sector Operations Vice President, Mansur Muhtar, and the ADEA Acting Executive Secretary, Shem Bodo, signed the MoU for IsDB and ADEA, respectively, in the presence of Yien Oral Lam Tut, Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of South Sudan who led a High Level Ministerial Delegation of the ADEA Steering Committee to IsDB from September 12-16, 2017.
The delegation comprised of the Director for Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development in the African Develop Bank Group, Oley Dibba-Wadda; the Senior External Relations and Strategic Partnership Officer, Ramata Almamy Mbaye; and the Education Attaché of the Republic of South Sudan. The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Zamir Iqbal; IsDB's Special Envoy on SDGs and Senior Adviser to the IsDB President, Rami Mahmoud Saeed; the Adviser on Science, Technology and Innovation, Hyat Sindi; and the Education Division Manager, Abderahman Beddi.
The visit is a follow up to the outcome of the ADEA Triennale held in Dakar in March 2017 where the two institutions committed to collaborate in the education sector in common Member Countries. The MoU serves as a framework to facilitate cooperation in areas of common interest notably advocacy and knowledge sharing, and cooperation on increasing the capacity and mobilizing resources for education systems in Africa.
The two-day discussions identified, in the short to medium term, the road map for collaboration which highlights a strong commitment to the establishment of the African Education Fund (AEF) initiated by ADEA, leveraging on opportunities offered by ADEA as a unique policy platform of networks for greater outreach. The African Education Fund is a unique African initiative aimed at mobilizing sustainable funding mechanism to finance education in the continent.
About IsDB
The purpose of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is to foster socioeconomic development in its Member Countries and Muslim communities in non-Member Countries with the ultimate goal of promoting human development through investments in priority areas such as education, poverty reduction, health and governance.
About ADEA
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is a forum for policy dialogue and a genuine partnership between African ministries of education and external partners. Its vision is an Africa with high quality education and training geared towards the promotion of critical knowledge and skills for accelerated and sustainable development. The African Development Bank Group hosts ADEA. www.adeanet.org