Press Release

OFID hosts 61st Coordination Group meeting
Al-Herbish calls for more comprehensive development framework

20/2007 June 26, 2007, Vienna, Austria
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Developing countries, especially the low-income-nations, need a fairer and more comprehensive deal from their donor partners, according to Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). In particular, this would mean more equal participation in the benefits of globalization.

The Director-General was addressing the 61 st meeting of the Coordination Group of Arab National and Regional Development Institutions at OFID’s Vienna Headquarters today.

In his statement to the Group and senior representatives from the Bank for Economic and Social Development of Venezuela (BANDES) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Mr. Al-Herbish praised the Group’s continued efforts to harmonize their policies and practices for the optimal delivery of development aid.

Calling for continued dialogue, both within the Group and with other donors, Mr. Al-Herbish highlighted the need for aid that encourages economic as well as social development. “While our support to social projects is beneficial in its own right, such support cannot be effective if productive infrastructure is not developed at the same time,” he said.

The Coordination Group is a collective body of three bilateral and five multilateral agencies set up to provide greater cohesion and effectiveness in the delivery of Arab Aid. Its members are the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND), the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Saudi Fund for Development and OFID. Together, the Group’s members have provided a cumulative US$75 billion in development assistance.

Items on the agenda of the three-day meeting include: Enhancing cooperation and coordination during the implementation of projects and on new activities; Group interventions in Palestine; trade financing; and the establishment of an Arab World development portal.