THE HISTORY OF THE OPEC FUND
From the South, For the World –
H e was succeeded by Y. Seyyid Abdulai, who took the helm at the OPEC Fund on August 1, 1983. It was a period when the first tremors of seismic geopolitical shifts were felt. Communism in Europe had entered a decade of decay that would be its last. When Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985 he embarked on an ambitious reform program; yet the real state of one of the world’s two superpowers was laid bare a year later by the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear accident. In the Middle East, Iran and Iraq eventually reached a ceasefire agreement in 1988. One year earlier, in 1987, the first Intifada had erupted in the Jabila refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The subsequent 1993 Oslo Accords ultimately failed to bring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a step-by- step resolution. The global development agenda was also affected by events elsewhere. In 1982, Argentina invaded what it calls the Malvinas, prompting a military response from the United Kingdom which did not accept the loss of the Falkland Islands, a British Overseas Territory. While the arms race between East and West devoured enormous resources, reducing the fiscal space of even the wealthiest nations, the birth of the Internet in 1983
announced the start of a new age. The first immediate crisis confronting the new OPEC Fund leadership was the famine in Ethiopia, which affected 7.5 million people from 1983 to 1985. Despite global solidarity (the 1985 Live Aid concert raised over US$125 million, equaling US$390 million today) up to 1.2 million people lost their lives, 2.5 million were internally displaced, 400,000 refugees fled the country and 200,000 children were orphaned. The OPEC Fund responded with a significant expansion of agricultural projects in all regions and at all levels. The institution financed investments in rural infrastructure, especially routes that connect farmers to markets, the development of production and storage facilities, trade in agricultural goods, but also training, capacity and institution building. In recent years, the empowerment of women and youth, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, became additional focus areas. Anajulia Taylhardat, former OPEC Fund Director of Coordination and Planning for Public Sector Operations, says: “Agricultural development is at the heart of sustainable development and is one of the most powerful tools to foster economic and social well-being.”
Y. Seyyid Abdulai
Y. Seyyid Abdulai was Director- General of the OPEC Fund from 1983-2003. Born in 1940 in Nigeria and trained as a banker and economist, he had served at the World Bank in various positions between 1971 and 1982. During his tenure at the OPEC Fund, the focus shifted to smaller community projects in sectors like agriculture, education and health, with the goal of providing more immediate results and making a greater impact. He outlined his priorities by describing development assistance as an "effective instrument against poverty." In the most significant development since the OPEC Fund’s beginning, he oversaw the launch of Private Sector Operations in 1999. Under his watch, the OPEC Fund approved its 1,000th project and reached 110 countries. By the time he passed on the leadership to Suleiman J. Al-Herbish in 2003 the OPEC Fund had approved US$5.2 billion in financing.
Agriculture sector approvals by region
“Agriculture is one of the most powerful tools to foster economic and social well-being.”
Total approvals: US$3.45 BN
Africa
Asia
Anajulia Taylhardat, former Director of Coordination and Planning for Public Sector Operations, OPEC Fund
Latin America & Caribbean
Europe
Global
Amounts under US$.09 MN may not be reflected in this chart
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