04 | THE INSTITUTION – ABOUT THE OPEC FUND
ABOUT THE OPEC FUND The OPEC Fund for International Development is a multilateral institution dedicated to supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through the provision of financing, technical assistance and knowledge sharing.
3. building resilient and equitable societies.
Established in 1976, the OPEC Fund is the only global multilateral development finance institution that extends its support exclusively to non-member countries in the low- and middle-income range as defined by the World Bank. To date, the OPEC Fund has committed close to US$30 billion to development projects and operations in 125 countries with an estimated total project cost of over US$200 billion. Business is guided by the Strategic Framework 2030, which has now entered the third, and final, phase of implementation during which the OPEC Fund seeks to significantly expand the volume of its operations and further deepen its impact. The basis for this policy is the successful diversification of funding sources with several bond issuances since the debut in the capital markets in January 2023. Similar to other development finance institutions and multilateral development banks the OPEC Fund offers a wide range of financial instruments such as equity, loans, trade finance, guarantees and grants and takes a flexible approach to structuring its financial products. Going beyond project financing, the OPEC Fund also provides funding for comprehensive programs (policy-based lending) and funding linked to ESG criteria (sustainabili- ty-linked loans).
The OPEC Fund’s operations are anchored in four key operational priorities:
1. Infrastructure, which includes energy, transport and water and sanitation,
2. human capital, covering health and education,
3. institutional capacity development and
4. private sector development.
In addition to these priorities, the OPEC Fund integrates two cross-cutting themes across its operations — climate action and food security — ensuring that its interventions are sustainable, resilient and responsive to the evolving needs of partner countries. While the majority of invest- ments has traditionally been geared towards the public sector, the OPEC Fund has also built a strong presence in the private sector since the start of operations in the sector in 1999. Leveraging its own commitments the OPEC Fund is able to catalyze engagement and funds from its partners, which include governments, interna- tional and regional development institutions as well as the private sector. In the framework of the Arab Coordination Group — a strategic alliance of national and regional development finance funds — the OPEC Fund is mobilizing important commitments as demonstrated with the group’s US$10 billion pledge to combat land degradation, desertifica- tion and drought, announced at the UN Conference to Combat Desertification (COP16) in December 2024.
A strategy review and update in 2024 set as priorities for the period 2025-2030:
1. Promoting sustainable development through South- South collaboration,
2. driving climate innovation and a Just Transition, and
62
Powered by FlippingBook