Press Release

PARTNERS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY
OFID Director-General meets with Austrian Minister Plassnik

25/2008 July 4, Vienna, Austria
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The Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish met yesterday with Dr. Ursula Plassnik, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on matters of topical, mutual interest in the areas of development and international cooperation.

Dr. Plassnik congratulated Mr. Al-Herbish on his re-appointment as Director-General and conveyed her thanks to OFID for its “most generous contribution” towards the reconstruction of the Nahr El Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. OFID last week pledged US$5 million to the program at a special donors’ conference hosted by the Austrian Government in cooperation with the Government of Lebanon, the European Commission and the Arab League.

Responding, Mr. Al-Herbish praised the Austrian Government for its initiative in organizing the conference, which he described as “evidence of a genuine humanitarian spirit.” OFID’s contribution, he said, would be drawn from its Special Grant Account for Palestine, which was supporting “a host of relief and reconstruction efforts in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Turning to more general matters, the Director-General noted that “there are so many more critical challenges waiting to be tackled.” These include the most pressing issues of food security and energy poverty, he said.

Highlighting energy poverty, Mr. Al-Herbish referred to the recent announcement of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia calling for a meeting of OFID’s Ministerial Council to consider the allocation of US$1 billion to finance energy projects in developing countries. This, said the Director-General, empowered OFID to step up its intervention in this area. Continuing,, he stated that energy provision was “a strong focus” for OFID and one that was highlighted in the declaration issued following the Third Summit of Sovereigns and Heads of State of OPEC last November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He then went on to brief Dr. Plassnik about a workshop on energy poverty hosted by OFID in Abuja, Nigeria, last month. “The workshop was a huge success and we hope to replicate it in other regions in due course.”

Asked by the Minister whether OFID would consider renewable energy projects, Mr. Al-Herbish stressed that the main objective was to provide people with power so that they would no longer be dependent on biomass and other materials for cooking and heating. “OFID prides itself on responding directly to the expressed needs of its partner countries,” he said. “If the request is for a hydro-power or solar energy project then that is what we do.”

Dr. Plassnik commended OFID’s vision and said that it tallied well with that of the Austrian Government. OFID, she stressed, was a “valued partner” in the global battle against poverty. Thanking the Minister, Mr. Al-Herbish said that OFID considered its financing activities as “a constructive contribution to international dialogue.”

The meeting concluded with the Director-General inviting Dr. Plassnik to OFID Headquarters to learn more about the work of the institution.