“Shaping the Future with Our Partners in the Middle East—A New Frontier in International Development Cooperation” by Senior Research Advisor Ohno Izumi Published on the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Website

An article by Ohno Izumi , Senior Research Advisor at the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development (JICA Ogata Research Institute), titled “Shaping the Future with Our Partners in the Middle East—A New Frontier in International Development Cooperation ,” was published on the Sasakawa Peace Foundation website on June 8, 2026.

This contribution reexamines the Middle East not as a traditional “place of conflict,” but as a “region of connection” where cultures, religions, and trade intersect. It emphasizes that, amid an increasingly multipolar and multiplex international order, the region is emerging as a significant actor in development cooperation. The article also highlights that Middle Eastern countries have long been providers of development cooperation, operating within historical and institutional contexts distinct from those of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors. In addition to government agencies, a diverse range of actors, including foundations, charitable organizations rooted in Islamic philanthropy, as well as multilateral organizations such as the Islamic Development Bank, play important roles as development actors. Furthermore, it suggests that Middle Eastern countries are “complementary” partners for Japan in development cooperation, and that it is important for the two sides to jointly build new models that emphasize investment and innovation.

The article’s message—that development cooperation should move beyond one-way knowledge sharing and instead foster mutual learning among diverse actors in equal partnerships to generate new knowledge—resonates with the objectives of the “Knowledge Co-Creation with Emerging Countries ” study group hosted by the Ogata Research Institute and chaired by Ohno.

The full text of the article is available at the link below.