Press Release

PALESTINE’S ASHRAWI VISITS OFID

Director-General Al-Herbish reviews cooperation with Palestine

38/2007 December 6, 2007 Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today welcomed Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, Chair, Executive Committee of the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH), a non-governmental organization (NGO), based in Jerusalem. Dr. Ashrawi was in the Fund to exchange views and discuss cooperation between OFID and Palestinian civil society organizations (CSOs) and NGOs. She was received by OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish, and his senior staff.

Discussions centred on the general situation in Palestine, with emphasis on social developments. Mr. Al-Herbish spoke of the long-standing relations between OFID and Palestine. He surveyed the operations of OFID in Palestine and the delivery mechanisms. Recalling that relations began as far back as 1979, Mr. Al-Herbish said the cooperation has since expanded to reach several other areas of need.

Dr. Ashrawi thanked the Director-General for OFID’s sustained attention to Palestinian concerns and for planned, future operations. She spoke about the difficulties facing her people, and touched on efforts by both the public sector and CSOs to strengthen the Palestinian economy. She said the commitment and dedication of CSOs and NGOs in their work toward the development of the territory deserved all support. She hopes OFID will continue to assist through various channels.

MIFTAH is a non-partisan institution dedicated to fostering democracy, good governance and social development within the Palestinian society through promoting public accountability, transparency and the empowerment of marginalized communities.

Only this week, the Governing Board of OFID, meeting in its 121st Session here in Vienna, approved a grant in the amount of US$3.0 million to benefit CSOs in the West Bank; among them MIFTAH. MIFTAH is to receive a US$170,000 share of the grant to pursue projects in agriculture.

Between 1979 and 2002, OFID provided 67 grants to projects and programs in Palestine totalling US$18.1 million and channelled through international organizations and Palestinian NGOs. During 1998 and 1999, two concessional loans were extended by OFID to the Palestinian Authority amounting to US$18 million. The loans were used in two community development projects co-financed by the World Bank and now completed.

Since 2002, an OFID Special Grant Account for Palestine has been funding grant-aided operations in the territory. The special account was established with an initial endowment of US$10 million, which has been replenished four times and now stands at a cumulative US$70 million. Of this amount, some US$2.5 million was directed to the creation of PALFUND, a scheme that supports the Palestinian private sector through small loans to micro-entrepreneurs and artisans and is managed by UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Microfinance is seen as an effective tool in job creation, poverty reduction and economic and social growth. In August, 2007, an additional US$4.5 million was extended by OFID to PALFUND.