Chairman of Qatar Fund for Development H E Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani; Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad and other officials during the event.
New York: The State of Qatar, through the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), together with Canada, Norway, the World Bank Group (WBG), the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), brought together global leaders for “Banking on Development” on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81).
The high-level convening brought together senior representatives from governments, multilateral and regional development banks, bilateral development institutions, philanthropy and the private sector to examine how development finance can respond to growing and increasingly complex financing needs. Discussions focused on strengthening partnerships, mobilising public and private capital, enhancing coordination across institutions and regions, and advancing practical financing approaches capable of translating development priorities into tangible, scalable and sustainable impact.
Chairman of Qatar Fund for Development H E Sheikh Thani bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani chaired the event, which opened with remarks by Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Dr. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad.
H E Sheikh Thani then delivered the keynote address, followed by a special address from H E Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
A high-level strategic dialogue brought together Prime Minister of Barbados The Rt. Hon. Mia Amor Mottley and President of the World Bank Group H E Ajay Banga to discuss the evolving development finance landscape and the role of investment and financing in expanding economic opportunity. The discussion explored how development finance can support job creation and livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and enable sustainable growth across developing economies.
Across the programme, sessions brought together speakers including Minister of International Development of Norway H E Åsmund Grøver Aukrust; Secretary of State (International Development) of Canada the Honourable Randeep Sarai; President of the Inter-American Development Bank Ilan Goldfajn; Executive President of CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean Sergio Díaz-Granados; Director General of QFFD H E Fahad Hamad Al-Sulaiti; Associate Administrator, United Nations Development Programme Haoliang Xu; Head of Investments at the U S International Development Finance Corporation Conor Colman; Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the Global Partners Office at BlackRock Joud Abdel Majeid; and Vice President and Chief Impact Officer of Microsoft Elevate Kevin Frey.
As part of the convening, QFFD and the Inter-American Development Bank launched the Gulf–Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Policy Paper, providing a framework for strengthening complementarities between the Gulf and Latin America and the Caribbean through deeper institutional partnerships, investment opportunities and development cooperation.
In a further step to advance cross-regional cooperation, QFFD and CAF signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen regional cooperation and advance innovative financing in support of sustainable development.
