TSKB (Industrial Development Bank of Türkiye) hosted this year’s IDFC (International Development Finance Club) Steering Group Meeting in Istanbul on July 17-18, 2024. The meeting was attended by CEOs from the world’s leading development organizations, including BOAD (West African Development Bank), Bancoldex (Colombian Foreign Trade Bank), AFD (French Development Agency) and K/W (German Development Bank).
Founded in 2011 at the headquarters of TSKB in Istanbul by its members, including TSKB itself, IDFC aims to promote sustainable development investments worldwide. Operating as a coalition that targets cooperation among member institutions in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Kungming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, IDFC actively engages with external organizations. Its focus areas include fostering strategic cooperation among national, international and regional development finance institutions and maintaining leadership in sustainable development banking. In this context, the IDFC Steering Group Meeting serves as a significant platform where development finance institutions from diverse regions convene to discuss sustainability goals.
The IDFC Steering Group Meetings also serve the specific purpose of establishing a roadmap centered around IDFC’s visibility and mission. During these meetings, the IDFC Steering Group adopts a development banking perspective to address the shared objectives of member institutions. Key themes from the meetings are incorporated into the agenda of international platforms such as the Finance in Common System facilitating countries in defining their strategic roadmaps.
IDFC has a total of 26 members from various regions around the world from Europe to Asia, from Africa to Latin America while the IDFC Steering Group consists of 13 members. Previously the IDFC was chaired by KfW (2011-2016) and AFD (2017-2023) before transitioning to a co-chair model currently led by BOAD (Africa) and Bancoldex (Latin America). For the first time in its history, the IDFC is chaired by developing countries marking a significant transition. Additionally, the IDFC Steering Group Meeting was held in Türkiye for the first time since its establishment. The meeting focused on evaluating the Club’s global strategic roadmap and agenda emphasizing particularly gender equality as well as strengthening TSKB’s relationships and exploring areas of cooperation with member banks that are key financial stakeholders in Türkiye’s green transformation and inclusive development efforts.
TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç: « We continue to develop effective solutions on a global scale with the principle of inclusive development. »
Speaking at the opening of the IDFC Steering Group Meeting hosted by TSKB this year focusing on climate and gender equality areas TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç said: « As TSKB we are delighted to host this year’s session of the IDFC Steering Committee Meeting which is being held for the first time in our country. Founded in 2011 at our bank’s premises TSKB joined the Steering Group in 2019. IDFC’s Steering Committee Meeting represents for TSKB a strategic opportunity to enhance our contribution to global sustainability goals alongside our valuable stakeholders in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. »
Bilgiç also stated that the meeting aimed to increase collaboration and share experiences in critical areas such as climate finance alignment with the sustainable development goals, gender equality, solidarity for development, and biodiversity. « Representing our country on such an important platform like IDFC we continue to develop effective solutions on a global scale with inclusive development. As IDFC members, I believe our long-term efforts and commitments in this regard will raise global awareness and strengthen cooperation. IDFC’s participation in the Finance in Common Summits and ongoing collaboration meetings with the signatories of the gender equality declaration are critical in achieving progress and future goals in this field. Emphasizing our commitment to transparency and measurability in line with our goals. Our active involvement in approaches such as SDG alignment framework adopted within IDFC and activities focused on climate change have deepened our efforts in these areas. As an institution working with inclusivity in mind we are committed to play an active role in the Gender Equality Working Group which was co-chair with AFD and BICE. Our main contributions so far include the IDFC Collective Roadmap a roadmap with a focus on gender equality drawn up for IDFC and implemented in 2011 in cooperation with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FSFM) and the Gender Finance Mapping the first action plan drawn up on the basis of this roadmap. For the future we will continue to actively contribute to IDFC’s gender equality and climate roadmap on a national and international scale. In this regard as per our national declarations under the Paris Agreement, strengthening and country strategies are prepared towards the 2053 target for climate change mitigation and adaptation. We will also continue to create value through potential opportunities and new collaborations in the real sector leveraging new resources we provide. »
Javier Diaz Fajardo, President of Bancoldex, co-president of IDFC, « I Thank TSKB for making this meeting possible at such a crucial moment. This meeting allows us to advance in our roles as public development banks and reaffirm our responsibility as key mobilizers of the resources needed to achieve significant progress towards the sustainable development goals. »
Serge Ekue, President of BOAD, co-president of IDFC, « The call for reforms in the global financial architecture is critical to mobilize even more financial resources and achieve Africa’s sustainable development goals. The G20 capital adequacy framework urges Multilateral Development Banks to optimize their balance sheets and raise more financing to support countries. I look forward to fruitful discussions on the progress of the collective actions engaged by members through the working group, and also the need for better collaboration to address financial challenges towards the achievement of the SDGs focusing on climate change and gender equality. »
The opening speech by TSKB CEO Murat Bilgiç was followed by an address on « Geopolitical appraisal with a special focus on energy-related issues » by Mithat Rende, TSKB Board Member and Former Ambassador. As part of the agenda, Prof. Itir Erhart, social entrepreneur and Faculty Member at Istanbul Bilgi University, took the floor as a keynote speaker during a special session on gender-climate relations.
At the IDFC Management Committee Meeting, held with a focus on gender equality topics including « Climate finance, » « SDG Alignment » (Alignment with sustainable Development Goals), « Biodiversity, » and « Cooperation for Development » were discussed in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Strong Steps for Sustainable Development
Since the IDFC Steering Group in 2019, TSKB has co-chaired the Gender Equality Working Group with AFD and BICE. This group aims to raise awareness among IDFC members through gender equality-focused initiatives and joint declarations encouraging members to structure their internal strategies, take positions on the issue, and share knowledge and experience. A study completed in 2021 in cooperation with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (FSFM) produced a collective roadmap for gender equality for IDFC spanning 2022-2027. As an initial outcome of this roadmap, work was conducted on the Gender Equality Finance Mapping. Participation in international platforms such as inter-member meetings and the Finance in Common Summit is targeted to implement other significant applications under the action plan. Furthermore, TSKB continues to extend concrete support to the Club’s activities focusing on climate and biodiversity themes. TSKB’s Climate Change and Sustainability Management department actively follows the ongoing efforts.