OPEC Fund and BADEA sign agreement to boost cooperation

OPEC Fund Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa (left) with BADEA Director-General Dr Sidi Ould Tah.  

Vienna, Austria, March 9, 2020. The OPEC Fund for International Development and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) have signed a new agreement to strengthen cooperation in common partner countries.

During the past four decades, the OPEC Fund and BADEA have collaborated on 240 development operations in sub-Saharan Africa. The two institutions have between them contributed equally to total development financing of around US$4.3 billion. These operations have supported many sectors and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Recent success in the health and education sectors in Burkina Faso, for example, was highlighted in the previous edition of the OPEC Fund Quarterly magazine in the article Building Burkina Faso. 

Africa remains at the heart of the OPEC Fund’s work. The OPEC Fund’s Director-General Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa met with his BADEA counterpart Director-General Dr Sidi Ould Tah on a recent mission to Khartoum, Sudan, to discuss reinforcing the two institutions’ partnership. The talks culminated in the signing of the Cooperation Framework Agreement defining the guiding principles of more effective cooperation across common partner countries. The OPEC Fund and BADEA are eyeing even more public and private sector development opportunities in the region.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 85th Meeting of the Coordination Group* Heads of Operations – another important driver of development cooperation, established to optimize the use of resources and the development impact of financed operations in common partner countries. 

The meeting included discussions about the Arab Development Portal – a Coordination Group initiative in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide up-to-date development-related data and statistics concerning the Arab world (see article Better data in the Arab World published in the previous edition of the OPEC Fund Quarterly for more information). Cooperation with other development partners was also discussed.

In addition to the Director-General, the OPEC Fund’s delegation included Assistant Director General Fuad Albassam, Advisor Dr Sami Ben Daamech, Africa Region Director Belkacam Ouzrourou and Public Sector Officer Musab Alomar.

About the OPEC Fund 
The OPEC Fund is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries. The OPEC Fund works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. The OPEC Fund's work is people-centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs - such as food, energy, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. The OPEC Fund aims to encourage self-reliance and inspire hope for the future. Please see www.opecfund.org

* About the Coordination Group
The Coordination Group of the Arab National and Regional Developmental Institutions, the Islamic Development Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development. The Group comprises: the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Qatar Development Fund and the Saudi Fund for Development.