Casablanca, Morocco, 19 December 2022 - Within the framework of their joint capacity development program in the field of investment promotion, the Islamic Center for the Development of Trade (ICDT) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) organized a Workshop on Digitalization of Services for Investment Promotion in OIC Member Countries.

This workshop was organized for the benefit of 32 senior officials of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in 29 IsDB Member Countries. It addressed the technical aspects of enhancing services’ digitalization in Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) of OIC Member Countries through sharing knowledge, country experiences and best practices.

The workshop, which was held from 19-20 December 2022, provided the opportunity for the participants to learn about the benefits of adopting digital technologies and the critical success factors for digital transformation in investment promotion. The workshop discussed digital transformation opportunities and challenges for foreign direct investment (FDI) and exchanged perspectives on the active leading role of international development institutions, such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) Coordination Office and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (ICCIA).

During the first day of the workshop, Mr. Omar HMARRASS, Head of the Department of Relations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Morocco, delivered an opening speech, along with Mrs. Latifa Elbouabdellaoui, Director General of ICDT; Ms. Afrah Khalifa, Project Coordinator and representative of the Cooperation and Capacity Development (CCD) Department at IsDB; Mr. Mohamad El Sayed, Manager of the Information Technology Division, the representative of Executive Officer (CEO) at ICIEC; and Mr. Ismail Ersahin, Executive Director (a.i.) of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA).

In her opening speech, Ms. Afrah emphasized IsDB’s commitment to continue to work with its partners to support its member countries (MCs) through various IsDB programs, including the Investment Promotion Technical Assistant Program (ITAP).

The workshop also provided an opportunity to review and discuss the first ICDT-IsDB joint annual report on Investment Climate and Opportunities in OIC Countries 2022.  

The report presented valuable FDI-related statistics and insights on OIC economies to help assess the investment climate, analyze the main investment trends, identify issues, and shape future policies.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants recommended an action plan with several activities to facilitate the implementation of a digital transformation roadmap aiming at enhancing private sector Investment development.