“What we need are stability and reliability”

At a time of global economic uncertainty OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa led a delegation of the development institution to the 2024 Spring Meetings of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, DC in late April. 

“Rarely have these meetings been more important than today. The development finance institutions are staying the course, providing not only much-needed funding, but also stability and reliability”, President Alkhalifa said. 

Providing reassurance and continued support was the main goal in meetings with partner countries such as Armenia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Eswatini, Lebanon, Lesotho, Niger, Rwanda and Syria. Discussions with development partners such as the World Bank Vice Presidents for Middle East and North Africa, Ousmane Dione, South Asia, Martin Raiser, and West Africa, Ousmane Diagana, and the Executive President of CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, Sergio Díaz-Granados, focused on ways to strengthen the institutional framework for development. 

This is much needed as recent policy turbulence has almost immediately affected growth prospects. The latest IMF forecast cut the global growth projections to 2.8 percent in 2025 and to 3 percent in 2026 from 3.3 percent for both years in the previous forecast. “Swift escalation of trade tensions and high uncertainty are expected to have significant impact on growth in all regions,” the IMF report said in April. 

OPEC Fund President Alkhalifa echoed this assessment. “In the recent past, we have witnessed serious challenges such as the 2008/9 financial crisis or the COVID-19 pandemic. However, I have hardly ever witnessed such a deep sense of uncertainty about the state of the global economy. We had more than 30 meetings and our partners expressed serious concerns throughout.” 

Which makes active solidarity all the more important. Joining roundtables on Syria and Lebanon the President offered the OPEC Fund’s support to two countries that have suffered from severe and manifold crises. Launching a major new initiative, he said: “Through our ‘Power Syria’ approach, the OPEC Fund will focus on the recovery, modernization and regional integration of Syria’s electricity sector, enhancing economic revitalization, energy security and long-term sustainability.” 

Vice President, Public Sector Al Shaimaa Al-Sheiby represented the OPEC Fund at the 111th meeting of the World Bank Development Committee and emphasized: “Multilateral development banks have a vital role to play in creating an ecosystem that supports inclusive private sector development.” Meanwhile, the OPEC Fund Private Sector team met with development finance institutions, partner countries and international financial institutions in Washington.