The Road to the SDGs

PURPOSE X Since the development of the P5P, IsDB has been pursuing various targeted initiatives in MCs to enable the movement of goods, services, information, technologies and people across borders. These include: – Regional cooperation and integration (RCI) interventions (infrastructure projects, grant programmes and investment promotion initiatives) – Policy instruments (RCI Policy, RCI Strategy, RCI baseline reports, Regional Cooperation Organisations (RCO) mapping reports) – Strategic orientation guidelines (RCI action plans, RCI COVID-19 impact reports and Development Finance Assessment Index (DEFAI) strategic allocation mechanisms) X These RCI instruments and interventions provide guidance on programming, planning, implementing, supporting and resourcing sector and other thematic-based operations classified under regional cooperation and market integration activities. X Although MCs are already part of large regional integration and connectivity projects and regional trade preferential agreements, many are performing poorly in terms of intraregional trade, intraregional FDI flows, and cross-border energy and power connections. X To address these challenges, IsDB has developed the RCI Policy, which aims at narrowing development gaps between and within countries by: – Improving market access and sharing resources – Building closer trade and investment integration across sectors and industries – Connecting lagged or isolated areas to more economically vibrant regions – Establishing stronger financial links. METHOD X The RCI Policy and all subsequent RCI interventions and instruments are closely aligned with the P5P and IsDB’s new business model, which repositions IsDB towards a catalytic role that facilitates cooperation among developers at every step of the development cycle. The policy is also closely related to the new IsDB MCPS, complementing its country- centred analysis with a wider, more holistic approach. X The policy benefits from the activities of IsDB Group entities such as the ICD, the ICIEC and the ITFC in supporting trade and I sDB has launched an initiative to support regional cooperation and integration among its MCs Regional Cooperation and Integration Policy IsDB’s Regional Cooperation Policy and Strategy will enhance the capacity of MCs to attract domestic and foreign investment for sustainable development [ 60 ] SDGs