Fifty-seven countries are participating in the meetings alongside representatives from international financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

During the first day of meetings, the participants asserted the importance of leveraging private sector investment, especially foreign direct investments (FDIs), to finance both climate action and digital transformation.

Speaking to Ahram Online, the head of Digital Transformation at the Office of the Presidency of Turkey Safa Uslu said that Turkey is willing to invest in Egypt in digitalisation and to tap the opportunities the government is providing in this respect.

Uslu added that creating the necessary regulations is key for digital transformation to be fully realised, adding that Islamic countries need specific policies in this regard.

“Creating an attractive business ecosystem is key to stimulate private sector investments to enter developing and Arab countries. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have a story to be told in digital transformation and its related solutions, and it deserves to be shared with other countries,” Uslu explained.

Meanwhile, the Vice President of the International Affairs and Membership at the Digital Corporation Organization (DCO) Hassan Nasser said that the Middle East has the highest cost in terms of internet accessibility, and so a vision is needed for an inclusive digital transformation strategy that leaves no one behind.

“The challenge today is how to make the digital transformation inclusive and sustainable, especially in developing countries. This area needs to boost digital FDIs to bridge the gap of internet accessibility and digital transformation.”

Nasser told Ahram Online that the DCO is willing to cooperate with the government of Egypt in digital transformation.

The DCO provides multi-stakeholder programmes that aim to enhance cross-border data flows, driving growth and expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises, boosting innovation through a common regulatory framework, and raising workforce mobility as well as developing new approaches for digital taxation, Nasser said.

The IsDB meetings, which are scheduled to conclude on 4 June, include the 47th annual meeting of the IsDB’s Board of Governors, the 29th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the 15th annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD), the 22nd General Assembly of The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), and the 17th General Assembly of the International Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC).