EVENTS
T he World Governments Summit in Dubai, hosted by the OPEC Fund member country United Arab Emirates, is rapidly establishing itself as one of the major conferences in the busy schedule of world leaders. Held in February 2025, the event attracted key speakers such as International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Chairman of the Board of Oracle, Larry Ellison. Attending the conference provided an important opportunity for OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid
he urged. The session featured IMF Managing Director Georgieva, UAE Minister of Finance Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini alongside finance ministers, international officials and economic experts. The session concluded with recommendations to enhance international cooperation, restructure financial systems for inclusivity and support developing economies in the face of global challenges. The OPEC Fund President also engaged in a series of bilateral meetings and conversations, for instance with the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Jeremiah Manele, the Minister of Finance, Budget and Banking Sector of the Union of the Comoros Ibrahim Mohamed Abdourazak and the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud- Basso. The OPEC Fund has recently resumed project financing in the
Comoros with the approval and signing of a hospital project for US$17 million. Further opportunities are now under consideration. Meanwhile, EBRD is a long-standing partner of the OPEC Fund with more than US$500 million in co-financing of public and private sector projects. In addition to cooperation in the MENA region, expansion has strengthened the links between the two institutions: While EBRD can benefit from the OPEC Fund’s in-depth knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa, the OPEC Fund can benefit from EBRD’s strong presence in Central Asia. The OPEC Fund delegation at the World Governments Summit also included Vice President, Finance Tarek Sherlala and Vice President, Private Sector Tareq Alnassar. VP Alnassar met several business clients, while VP Sherlala held meetings and represented the OPEC Fund in a roundtable on the future of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Alkhalifa to raise the institution’s profile and expand its network.
The President also participated in a high-level roundtable on “Reimagining the future of multilateral cooperation and the Fund for the future,” convened by the UAE Ministry of Finance and the IMF. He said: “In the face of bigger challenges than ever, we must work together closer, faster and more effectively.” Alleviating the debt burden is key to unleashing valuable resources for development,
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