Press Release

OFID Ministerial Council holds 29th Session in Isfahan, IR Iran

18/2008 June 20, Vienna, Austria, Iran
Press inquiries:

The Ministerial Council of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), the institution’s highest policy-making body, this week concluded its 29th Annual Session in Isfahan, the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Council elected IR Iran to the Chair, while Venezuela was elected as the Vice Chair. HE Dr. Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, represented his country as Chairman; while HE Haiman El Troudi, Venezuela’s Minister of Planning and Development sat as Vice-Chairman. The Council unanimously re-appointed Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish as Director-General for a second five-year term (see press release 21/2008).

The Ministerial Council was addressed by HE Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, whose detailed statement contained many important points which the Council found most inspiring. The President assured OFID of Iran’s continuing support and called on the institution to rededicate itself to its commendable task of helping to improve living standards, especially among the poorest segments of the population in developing countries. On behalf of the Council, HE Dr. Mottaki expressed deep appreciation for the President’s esteemed presence as well as the very valuable suggestions he gave. HE Dr Mottaki assured the President that OFID would act rigorously on his suggestions. Presenting the President with a silver plate in recognition of his country’s “remarkable and unrelenting contributions to the cause of sustainable development”, Mr. Al-Herbish thanked the President for his encouraging words of support. The Director-General said he felt particularly inspired by President Ahmadi Nejad’s call on OFID to increase its support to the poorest developing countries. Mr. Al-Herbish recalled that at the Third Summit of Sovereigns and Heads of State in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Kind Abdullah had delivered the same message. The Director-General added that the institution had also been inspired by the call in the Riyadh Declaration for OFID to focus on the issue of energy poverty in developing countries. He informed the Council that, in line with such encouragement, OFID recently held, in Abuja, Nigeria, a highly successful Workshop on Energy Poverty in Africa. The workshop, which came up with many plans of action, was attended by several African Ministers, as well as partner institutions such as the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and UNIDO, among others.

1. In his opening address, HE Dr. Mottaki informed the meeting that the former Chairman HE Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, Honorable Minister of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was unavoidably absent at the meeting. He said however, that the former Chairman’s speech will be part of the official proceedings of the day’s meeting. HE Dr Mottaki paid glowing commendation to the former Chairman for his exemplary leadership in the two years that he chaired the Ministerial Council, and on behalf of the Council, he wished HE Dr Al-Assaf the very best in his future deliberations.. In his statement which was read at the meeting, HE Dr. Al-Assaf described OFID as a “buoyant, active institution” that was “firmly placed on the path of growth and progressive development.” OFID, he said, had become a “partner of choice” among its peers, and was enjoying increased visibility in the international system. Continuing, Dr. Al-Assaf noted with satisfaction OFID’s growing presence at key international conferences. This, he remarked, was further evidence of the institution “contributing effectively to global debate and development thinking.”
   
   The Chairman warned of “increasingly difficult times” for the world’s poor as a result of rising inflation rates and a projected drop in global economic growth. Developing countries faced “important policy challenges…to make greater headway in reducing poverty and unemployment,” he said. The “era of cheap food is over” he declared, and the world faces more “danger of running out of food supplies than at any other point in history.”
   
   Dr. Al-Assaf reminded the Council that the Riyadh Declaration emphasized that poverty eradication should “remain an overriding global priority.” The events in Riyadh, the Chairman stated, further encouraged OFID to continue working with the international community towards “the advancement of the interdependent and mutually supportive pillars of sustainable development - economic development, social progress and environmental protection.” The present Council Session, Dr. Al-Assaf asserted, presented a perfect opportunity to empower OFID even more “in its quest to modernize, instil dynamism and remain relevant” so that it could “deliver even greater impact.”
2. In his own customary statement to the Council, HE Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of OFID’s Governing Board, described 2007 as a busy and successful year, despite turbulent financial markets. The year ended, he noted, with the successful conclusion of OFID’s 16th Lending Program, with January 2008 marking the launch of its 17th Lending Program. Recalling the past 12 months, Mr. Lootah reported that OFID’s Governing Board had approved 49 public sector projects, seven of which were under the Blend Facility. In addition, he added, 17 private sector projects totalling US$199.4 million had been approved. Continuing, he stated that by the end of the first quarter of 2008, the window had generated a cumulative income of over US$55 million. Under OFID’s newly-launched Trade Finance Facility US$114 million had been approved in lines of credit and risk guarantees, thus “taking advantage of the growing South-South trade.”
   
   Another accomplishment since the last Council meeting, Mr. Lootah noted, had been approval of US$26.4 million in grants, including emergency food aid, whose “relevance and importance has been underscored by the ongoing acute food crisis”.
3. In his own distributed statement, OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish also highlighted November’s Riyadh Summit, which he described as a “defining event.” The Summit, he noted had “re-empowered OFID in the discharge of its mission,” most notably with regard to the topical issue of energy for sustainable development. The Director-General identified energy poverty as one of the most serious problems facing the world today. “Without energy, there can be no development,” he said. OFID had already taken tangible steps to address the issue, Mr. Al-Herbish pointed out, referring to the successful conclusion of the institution’s recently-held workshop Energy Poverty in Africa in Abuja, Nigeria (see press releases 15/2008, 16/2008 and 17/2008 for more information). In addition, OFID was collaborating with the Saudi Fund to conduct a joint study on energy poverty and ways and means of combating it.
   
   The Director General identified food prices and the debate over crops-for-fuel versus crops-for-food as two of the main issues concerning the global community. OFID had made its presence known at important occasions surrounding these topics, added Mr. Al-Herbish, such as the 31st Governing Council of IFAD earlier this year, where he had chaired the roundtable ‘Rising prices of food and agricultural commodities.’ Additionally, an OFID delegation attended the High-Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome, which was organized by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. OFID had responded readily to the food crisis, said the Director-General, citing as an example OFID’s emergency grant of US$1.5 million to the World Food Program. Mr. Al-Herbish advised, however, that a longer-term strategy was required to “help reconcile the food and energy needs of the poor.”

Mr. Al-Herbish noted that throughout 2007 OFID had continued to cultivate ties with other development institutions, such as the World Bank and UNIDO.

The Director-General informed Council of progress made in developing a successor to the institution’s Public Information Campaign. The new program, known as Public Information Strategy, would embrace new activities such as the endowment of an OFID Chair on Development; a second Scholarship Award; and a book on HIV/AIDS, among others.


Concluding his address, the Director-General stressed that the deadline for reaching the Millennium Development Goals was steadily approaching, and that the demands on OFID’s resources, which were already being challenged by the weak dollar and rising energy prices, were growing. OFID was nonetheless “well-placed” to respond positively to these demands. One only had to look at OFID’s achievements in recent years, such as the broadening of its activities, the strengthening of collaborative ties and the development of new financing instruments. As a result, he concluded, OFID was “in a stronger position than ever before to step up its contribution” to fighting poverty and promoting sustainable development.

4. The Ministerial Council considered and adopted OFID’s Annual Report for 2007 (see separate press release 19/2008). It also reviewed and approved the audited Financial Statements of OFID for fiscal 2007. External auditors were appointed for 2008.
5. The Council approved replenishment of the Special Grant Account for Emergency Relief Operations and reviewed progress reports on the Trade Finance Facility and Special Grant Accounts for HIV/AIDS and Palestine.
6. The 30th Session of the Ministerial Council will take place in June 2009 in Venezuela.