Creating a global forum to bridge global infrastructure gap

Dr. Walid Hejazi Professor Rotman Business School, University of Toronto and Senior Resource Consultant at Knowledge Now to meet Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, the Heads of the Multilateral Development Banks, Chairs of the G20, G24, G77 and g7+ and Under-Secretary-General for UN DESA as he participates in Islamic Financing for Infrastructure projects in the mega event of Global Infrastructure Forum 2016.

A one day forum to coincide with the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings, will take place on Wednesday April 13th 2016, in Washington, DC. This forum is an invitation based periodical event in which about 300 delegates from Government, Ministry of Finance and infrastructure officials, development agencies involved in infrastructure financing/advising/convening; MDBs, UN agencies, as well as bilateral, government owned entities such as BNDES, DBSA, PIDG, PPIAF, OECD, plus selected CSOs will participate. The private sector participation will be on panels only.

The objective of this forum is to facilitate development of sustainable, accessible and resilient quality infrastructure through enhanced financial and technical support for developing countries, including least developed countries (LDCs), land locked developing countries (LLDCs), small island developing states (SIDS), improve alignment and coordination among established and new infrastructure facilities, MDBs, UN agencies, national institutions, development partners and the private sector and highlight opportunities for investment and cooperation.

Dr. Walid Hejazi will be among the lead speakers at the forum. He is a Professor of Business Economics and International Competitiveness at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management for 20 years, and is an Academic Director of the School’s Islamic Finance Program. He simultaneously serves as a senior resource consultant among the wide pool of experts at Knowledge Now, a leading global knowledge based executive consulting firm. Walid has advised the Canadian and many foreign governments on themes related to Islamic Finance, International Trade, Foreign Direct Investment, International Tax Structures and Global Competitiveness, and have also appeared several times before Canadian parliamentary committees on these themes. He has been working closely with the Toronto Financial Services Alliance and other financial institutions to enhance the presence of Islamic Finance in Canada.

This forum that has been marking its remarkable contribution to world’s economy since many years and will have participation of the renowned personalities: Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, the Heads of the Multilateral Development Banks, Chairs of the G20, G24, G77 and g7+ and Under-Secretary-General for UN DESA.