OPEC Fund Joins Water Forward with additional US$1 billion pledge by 2030

Announcement made as OPEC Fund joins global water security coalition at World Bank Spring Meetings

Current water investments are expected to reach 10 million people by 2030. The institution today pledged an additional US$1 billion by 2030 for water, which will benefit 15 million more once projects are completed.

Water insecurity affects billions of people worldwide, constraining economic growth, undermining food systems and deterring investment. Addressing it at scale requires coordinated action.

OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa took part in Water Forward: Driving Jobs and Prosperity today, as part of the 2026 World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings. Hosted by World Bank President Ajay Banga, the event brought together heads of government, multilateral development banks, the UN Secretary-General, the private sector and civil society around the formal launch of the Water Forward coalition.

“The OPEC Fund is proud to join ‘Water Forward’ to help turn ambition into action. By 2030, our current portfolio will help deliver water access and water security to 10 million people. To build on this impact, the OPEC Fund will invest US$1 billion by 2030 in water-related projects, reaching an additional 15 million people by project completion.”, said OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. He continued, “This commitment builds on our strong track record in water, sanitation and resilient infrastructure. But we must do more – and we will do more.”

Water Forward aims to deliver water security for up to one billion people by 2030, working through country-led Water Compacts that integrate policy reform, institutional strengthening and investment planning.

President Alkhalifa joined fellow heads of multilateral institutions in a Partners in Action segment, setting out the OPEC Fund's contribution to turning water commitments into jobs and economic opportunity.

The Washington event follows the OPEC Fund's launch of the Green-Blue Connect Accelerator at Climate Solutions Week in Vienna earlier this month.

Accelerating water-climate ideas into bankable projects

The Accelerator is a pre-investment platform that moves climate-resilient water and urban initiatives from early-stage concepts to bankable operations, through diagnostics, climate risk analytics, feasibility studies and institutional design.

Climate Solutions Week also featured a high-level water roundtable co-organized with the World Bank, reinforcing the same agenda now on display in Washington.