The first IDB Public-Private Partnership Forum, the start of a series of meetings to be held annually in IDB member countries, will take place on March 22, 2017 at Al Faisaliah Hotel in Riyadh. The invitation-only event will bring together senior government officials and key regional and international executives from the private sector who, under the heading "Challenges, Opportunities, Successes", will discuss the wide-ranging aspects of the increasingly important use of PPP's in IDB member countries across numerous infrastructure sectors. Dr. Bandar bin Mohammed Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank, said the bank is hosting the forum as it firmly believes the importance of partnership between the public and private sectors to achieve development in some member countries that are facing major challenges in financial, human capital and knowledge resources. Dr. Hajjar further said "the Islamic Development Bank has a vision to transform challenges faced by IDB member countries into promising opportunities and the Forum comes in this framework to showcase successful experiences of partnership between the public and private sectors in the member countries. The forum sessions will include panel discussions on PPP Horizons and the Government's Direction to Support PPPs and the Private Sector and Financiers' Role in Assisting, the Public Sector to Fulfill Resources of Infrastructure Projects, and PPP Success Stories in IDB member countries. The third panel discussion and Q&A will explore PPP's in meeting the goals of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030. Next on the agenda is the migration from government funding to PPP's and the potential and availability of appropriate projects in IDB member countries. The day will wrap up with a focus on the infrastructure needs of IDB member countries and the benefits and challenges of addressing these needs through the PPP modality of financing.
