The OPEC Fund for International Development was conceived at a Conference of the Sovereigns and Heads of State of OPEC Member Countries, in Algiers, Algeria, March 1975.
Initially named 'The OPEC Special Fund,' the institution was originally intended to be a temporary channel of assistance that would reaffirm “the natural solidarity which unites OPEC countries with other developing countries in their struggle to overcome underdevelopment.”
We evolved into a permanent development finance institution agency in 1981, and launched private sector and trade finance operations in 1998 and 2006, respectively, to help improve development impact and strengthen our institution’s own sustainability.
True to our original mandate, we have since expanded our financing instruments and now offer a wider array of services and solutions to meet the evolving needs of our partner countries.
OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the historic Baghdad Conference, September 10–14, 1960. It aims to coordinate the petroleum policies of its member countries and determine the best means of securing stable oil supplies.
OPEC’s first Summit of Heads of State and Government in Algiers in 1975 led to the establishment of the OPEC Fund for International Development in 1976.
Though the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) was born of OPEC, the two organizations have distinct mandates that do not overlap. Over time, the OPEC Fund and OPEC have even evolved to comprise a slightly different set of member countries.
The OPEC Fund’s support for development in non-member countries is entirely independent of the level of income its member countries receive from their oil resources. Nevertheless, the OPEC Fund remains - and will always remain - the manifestation of its member countries’ ambitions to create a fairer, more equitable and prosperous world. The OPEC Fund for International Development and OPEC will work together whenever doing so will promote the realization of this ambition.