The 169th session meeting of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Board of Governors, held in Jeddah from September 10-11, 2019, was concluded yesterday.

On this occasion, the Minister of Finance, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jada’an, expressed his thanks to all those who contributed to the success of the meeting. He highlighted that the strategic framework approved by last ministerial council during constituted an additional step forward in achieving the Fund’s goals.

The meeting passed a number of decisions. The report of the Finance Committee, risk management policies and the borrowing plan were all approved and new members were elected. Also, the OFID action plan for 2020 was reviewed and four projects for the private sector and trade finance were approved.

Headquartered in Austria, OFID is an intergovernmental development finance institution. It was founded by the member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1976, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between OPEC member states and other developing countries, in addition to providing assistance to developing countries, especially low-income countries, in the pursuit of social and economic development.

The Fund consists of 12 members, namely: Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, UAE and Venezuela. So far 134 countries worldwide have benefited from the Fund's financial assistance. Since 1976, US $ 24.5 billion has been provided. The Kingdom's contribution to the Fund is 34 percent, the highest among the Member States.