His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, in his capacity as Secretary General of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, signed on Sunday 20 Ramadan 1442 corresponding to May 2, 2021, a cooperation agreement with His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDBG), in his capacity as Director of the Endowment Properties Investment Fund. The agreement aims to put in place the appropriate framework through which the contributions of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy are received and managed according to the policies and regulations of the fund, whereby the bank, according to this agreement, undertakes the investment of those contributions as the owner of the Endowment Properties Investment Fund, which is a trust fund that aims to mobilize financial resources for the purpose of creating a financing mechanism to enhance and develop the properties of the endowments that have economic viability in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states and Muslim societies in non-member states.

This agreement is considered a general framework for close cooperation between the two parties, and a strengthening of the existing partnership relations between the two institutions, as they are two important organs of the OIC.

His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar delivered a speech on this occasion in which he spoke about the economic and financial implications of the Corona pandemic on the whole world, and praised the efforts made by the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in the field of promoting moderation and solidarity among all peoples, expressing his happiness with the good and solid relationships between the Academy and the IsDBG. His Excellency also pointed out the great role played by the Endowment Properties Investment Fund in order to ensure the sustainability, financial independence, and social development of charitable organizations and in order to strengthen the non-profit sector.

On his part, His Excellency Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano expressed his happiness with the occasion, which comes as a culmination of the negotiations the two parties held for months, and also expressed his sincere thanks and appreciation to His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar for the successful development activities carried out by the bank under his leadership within the member states of OIC, commending in this regard the impressive success of the bank’s Endowment Properties Investment Fund, and praising the importance of supporting this fund at all levels. His Excellency concluded his speech by inviting His Excellency Dr. Bandar Hajjar to mediate with the Islamic financial institutions that the bank deals with in order to support the Endowment Fund of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy.

It is worth mentioning that the IIFA Endowment Fund was established by a decision of the Ministerial Council of Foreign Ministers of the OIC Member States in 2017 in the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in order to become the fixed financial resource for financing the activities and programs of the Academy from its proceeds and revenues. The fund seeks to collect a capital of two hundred fifty (250) million US dollars from donations and grants coming from the governments of the member states of the OIC and from charitable institutions and individuals from Muslim peoples around the world.