The Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) approved $605 million in fresh financing on Wednesday to grow its portfolio and activities.

 

The approvals, made during OFID's 188th Governing Board meeting, targeted key development priorities like global food security, climate action, and critical infrastructure projects.

 

The OFID is an intergovernmental development finance institution established in 1976 by the member states of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

 

Before the Governing Board meeting, the Opec Fund inaugurated its extended Headquarters building on Vienna's historic Ringstrasse.

 

On the new funding, OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: "We are committed to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals." He also confirmed the organisation's strong ties with its host country, Austria, and promised, "With our new Headquarters, we intend to strengthen our presence and visibility."

 

OFID approved loans to support the public sector in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Guinea Bissau, India, Lesotho, Morocco, Rwanda, Somalia, Tanzania and Türkiye.

 

The fund also extended loans to private sector and trade finance operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mauritania, and Uzbekistan.

 

It also offered a $3 million grant to establish the OPEC Fund Food Security and Climate Adaptation Facility, an initiative to strengthen climate-resilient food systems and improve food security in the world's most vulnerable regions. 

 

The facility aims to catalyse $500 million in investments by 2030 and will kick off with pilot initiatives in sub–Saharan Africa.-TradeArabia News Service