01 | THE HIGHLIGHTS – FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT
FOREWORD BY THE PRESIDENT
Dear Reader,
The world is facing a polycrisis, driven by grave geopolit- ical tensions, global economic uncertainty and deepen- ing climate change. The reasons are complex and the impacts manifold. Despite this challenging global environment, the OPEC Fund for International Development succeeded in ex- panding its new commitments to US$1.7 billion across 55 operations over the last year. While the energy sector recorded the strongest performance, we established projects in all economic segments across a considerable portion of the world. We examined the impact of our projects in our latest “Development Effectiveness Report”, published simul- taneously with our Annual Report. Examining the period from July 2022 to June 2023 it finds that all 43 projects approved by the OPEC Fund during that time contribut- ed to at least one Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), with a majority (60 percent) contributing to two or more. The ability of the OPEC Fund to fulfil its long-term stra- tegic objectives and swiftly respond to new emergencies was strengthened with the successful placement of our inaugural bond in January 2023. Attracting premi- um investors from around the world, our offering was significantly oversubscribed and raised US$1 billion for sustainable development projects in line with our Envi- ronmental, Social and Governance (ESG) policy. Climate change remains a major concern that the OPEC Fund is tackling through its dedicated Climate Action Plan, which we adopted in September 2022. In its first full year of implementation we have demonstrated our strong commitment to climate action with around a third of all our 2022 approvals linked to climate finance. This trend is expected to continue and we are well on track to meet our 2030 target of having climate investment account for at least 40 percent of all new projects.
The OPEC Fund’s support for the energy transition derives from our commitment to SDG 7 – Clean and Affordable Energy. Delivery of the 17 SDGs at the half- way point was the subject of a major UN conference in New York in September, attended by a senior OPEC Fund delegation. The findings were sobering with just 12 percent of SDGs on target and more than 30 percent stagnating or backsliding. In line with our strategy and mandate, our projects dove- tail with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. All our projects contributed to the delivery of the SDGs, for example supporting agriculture in Benin, solar energy in Niger, healthcare in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and transportation in India. Our capacity to deliver on our mandate, while expanding operations in line with growing demand, has strength- ened in recent years thanks to our Strategic Framework 2030. Strategic enablers and activities across key areas will further support the delivery of our Business Plan 2024-2026. Deepening our impact, we continued to work closely with peer multilateral development banks and other develop- ment agencies including fellow members of the Arab Co- ordination Group (ACG). We joined forces in a pledge for a US$50 billion support package for Africa and worked together at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in our member country, the United Arab Emirates, to progress delivery of the US$24 billion ACG climate pledge through US$10 billion worth of concrete projects. We also initiated new forms of collaboration with the Asian Devel- opment Bank, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Food Programme and others.
Our cooperation with other institutions as well as with public and private sector actors is benefiting from the
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