OFID a “leading light” in the fight for energy poverty eradication

Vienna, Austria, April 7, 2017. OFID—the OPEC Fund for International Development—Director-General Suleiman J. Al-Herbish has led a delegation to at the 3rd Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Forum.

In an interview with Rachel Kyte, Chief Executive Officer and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for SEforALL, aired live on Facebook on April 4, Mr. Al-Herbish said that OFID was working to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “for future generations.”

Kyte called Al-Herbish, who is a member of SEforALL's Advisory Board, “one of the leading lights in the movement to get sustainable energy for all.” She added that OFID was “a very critical piece of the puzzle” towards solving the energy dilemma “investing, and making funding available to entrepreneurs and those who need it.”

Said Al-Herbish: “Sustainable development for OFID is a journey not a destination.” He added that OFID was building alliances with stakeholders, working with like-minded institutions, and leading a group of ten Arab institutions “not only to find solutions but to fund solutions.”

Faris Hasan, Director of OFID’s Strategic Planning and Economic Services department, participated in in the Deep Dive session entitled “Off Grid – On Target”, which reviewed how energy providers are increasing productivity through decentralized solutions, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Hasan was also on the panel of the Partner Working Session entitled: “Partnerships to integrate energy resources and last mile access for income generation.”

The SEforALL Forum is a biennial gathering celebrating the global sustainable energy movement. The theme of the 3rd forum is: Going Further, Faster – Together. Coming soon after the Paris Agreement entered into force and just 18 months after the adoption of the SDGs, it targets solutions for accelerating and scaling energy access and energy productivity. It is also a marketplace to help broker new partnerships and ideas, spur investment and drive action towards sustainable energy and realising SDG 7. www.seforall.org