Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) CEO Zhongjing Wang and his team participated in the 2026 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group Annual Meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan on 16-19 June. They met senior officials from IsDB member countries to discuss opportunities to further promote sustainable, high-quality connectivity infrastructure investment through partnerships. The MCDF team also met with IsDB and other International Financial Institution (IFI) representatives and joined a panel discussion organized by IsDB as a part of the annual meetings program.
CEO Wang, accompanied by his Senior Advisor, Mr. Ayumi Konishi, and MCDF’s Monde Nyambe and Bara Alaya, met Djibouti Economy and Finance Minister lyas Moussa Dawaleh, building on their meeting in Djibouti in January 2026. CEO Wang thanked the Minister for Djibouti’s active participation in MCDF’s first two replenishment meetings this year and said he looks forward to receiving him in Beijing. Minister Dawaleh reaffirmed the value of the country’s partnership with MCDF for connectivity development and said he looks forward to deepening it as MCDF concludes its replenishment process in September and implements its new strategy for 2027-2031.
Meeting with Nigeria Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele, CEO Wang thanked the Minister for Nigeria’s participation in MCDF’s second replenishment meeting, in Shanghai in June, and emphasized MCDF’s commitment to further strengthening its upstream tools and approaches for enabling bankable and sustainable connectivity projects during its next phase. Minister Oyedele described Nigeria’s intention to accelerate infrastructure investment and his plan to create a “deal room” for bankable projects which he said partnership with MCDF could help to make possible.
In a bilateral meeting, Mozambique Minister of Economy and Finance Carla Alexandra Louveira said the country is seeking partner financiers to help advance its five-pillar development strategy, covering areas such as infrastructure, climate change, and environmental sustainability, and is establishing a development bank. CEO Wang said these moves align well with MCDF’s focus on promoting the application of IFI standards in projects and partnering with New Partners (developing country financiers) to harness their local knowledge while supporting their capacity development. He invited Mozambique to join MCDF’s final replenishment meeting as an opportunity to fully harness its support for connectivity project preparation and capacity building.
Tajikistan First Deputy Finance Minister Yusuf Majidi noted his strong support for MCDF and encouraged MCDF and partners to further deepen their engagement with the country on connectivity development priorities, such as cross-border hydropower and transport linkages. CEO Wang congratulated Mr. Majidi on his appointment as First Deputy Finance Minister and thanked him for Tajikistan’s participation in the MCDF replenishment meeting, in Beijing in March 2026. He encouraged Tajikistan to take full advantage of the newly established MCDF Central Asia Fund, which provided its first grant, to help prepare a regional railway project linking Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in June.
In a meeting with Kyrgyzstan Deputy Finance Minister Nurbek Akzholov, CEO Wang introduced the MCDF Central Asia Fund and how Kyrgyzstan can benefit from its project preparation, capacity building, and information-sharing grants for promoting high-quality connectivity infrastructure investment. The Deputy Minister expressed his interest in establishing a closer partnership, with the hope that MCDF support could help boost the capacity of Kyrgyzstan’s line ministries to take projects forward.
MCDF’s operational focus on the cross-border transport, energy, digital, and water resource management sectors, their importance for Morocco, and future collaboration pathways were discussed during a meeting with Mr. Mohamed Tarik Bchir, Director of the Treasury and External Finance Department at the country’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In a bilateral meeting with Dr. Issa Faye, IsDB’s Director General of Global Practice and Partnerships, the MCDF delegation congratulated IsDB on successfully holding the annual meetings. The progress of IsDB capacity building projects supported by MCDF grants as well as IsDB members’ connectivity infrastructure projects in its pipeline which could benefit from MCDF project preparation grants as IsDB’s role as an MCDF Implementing Partner role deepens were discussed.
The MCDF delegation met representatives of two MCDF IFI IPs, the African Development Bank and West African Development Bank, and representatives of the Trade and Development Bank, whose role in the MCDF Coordination Committee evolved last year from an Observer to an IFI member. An exploratory meeting was held with the President Abdullah Kh. Almusabeeh of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, marking MCDF’s first engagement with the institution.
As part of the IsDB Group Annual Meetings program, Mr. Konishi represented MCDF as a panelist in the session on Financing the Middle Corridor for Resilient Transport and Trade. He explained how MCDF grants are helping to develop bankable project proposals that are essential for transforming the vision of the Middle Corridor into a reality. The panel went on to highlight the importance of coordinated partnerships and innovative financing approaches to strengthen regional connectivity and resilient transport infrastructure, which are central to MCDF’s mission.
Above news release photo caption (clockwise from top left): H.E. Mr. lyas Moussa Dawaleh, Economy and Finance Minister, Djibouti, H.E. Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Nigeria, and H.E. Ms. Carla Alexandra Louveira, Minister of Economy and Finance, Mozambique, together with Mr. Zhongjing Wang, CEO, MCDF
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