Press Release

OFID provides US$5 million to aid reconstruction of Palestinian refugee camp.

PR 32/2008 October 9, Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) yesterday made good its pledge to aid reconstruction of the Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, when it signed a US$5 million grant agreement with UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The agreement was signed by OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, and UNRWA Commissioner-General, Ms. Karen AbuZayd.

The pledge had been made by Mr. Al-Herbish in June, at an international donor conference held in Vienna to raise funds for a comprehensive reconstruction program prepared jointly by UNRWA, the World Bank and the Government of Lebanon. OFID’s contribution will be used to build eight schools and a vocational training center at the camp, which was destroyed last year during fighting, leaving some 27,000 refugees homeless. The reconstruction project is the largest in UNRWA’s 60-year history.

“We are pleased at OFID to be part of the global coalition making some contribution to the Palestinian struggle for a better future,” said Mr. Al-Herbish. “For Palestinians, sustainable development [OFID’s core business] means much more than shelter, food and energy; it touches on the very survival of a people,” he added.

Expressing UNRWA’s gratitude to OFID for its donation, Ms. AbuZayd noted that the institution had been among the first to respond to the appeal for reconstruction funds. “I appreciate deeply the support that OFID has extended to UNRWA over the past few years,” she said, adding “That support is needed more than ever in today’s grim circumstances for Palestinian refugees.”

Among OFID’s recent cooperation with UNRWA is the PalFund, a revolving micro-financing account, which helps Palestinians escape the poverty trap and find financial self-sufficiency. OFID has contributed US$7 million to the account, making it the largest single supporter of UNRWA’s micro-finance programs. “This is a cooperative enterprise for which UNRWA is grateful and in which we can all take pride,” said the Commissioner-General.

The signature ceremony at OFID Headquarters was attended by a host of dignitaries, including HE Dr. Ralph Scheide, Ambassador and Deputy Director General for Political Affairs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Austria); HE Makram Queisi, Ambassador of Jordan and Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps; HE Dr. Mikhail Wehbe, Ambassador of the League of Arab States; HE Ishaya El Khoury, Ambassador of Lebanon; and HE Dr. Zuheir Elwazer, Ambassador of Palestine ; as well as HE Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, OFID Governing Board Chairman.