OPEC Fund for International Development

Established in 1976 by the member-states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is a development funding agency prioritizing support to projects in the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The priority of OPEC Fund’s Corporate Plan 2016–2025 is the energy–water–food nexus, underpinned by transportation as the enabling sector. It also prioritizes projects advancing agriculture, education, health, and water supply and sanitation.

Highlights

Sovereign Cofinancing. In 2023, the OPEC Fund committed $500,000 in technical assistance to strengthen the capacity of Thailand to integrate its new bio-circular-green economy model into national development strategies.

Trust Funds. The first cofinancing through the Project Preparation and Implementation Support Trust Fund (PPISTF) was committed in 2023 to support transforming vocational education and training in Azerbaijan and modernizing the power supply system in Kathmandu, Nepal. The PPISTF was established by ADB and OPEC Fund in 2022 to support project preparation, including improved design and procurement readiness, in eligible countries.

Knowledge. In December 2023, at a side event to the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP28), ADB, together with partners, announced the Nature Solutions Finance Hub to proactively scale up the flow of public and private finance into conserving nature and biodiversity loss in Asia and the Pacific. OPEC Fund Director General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa talked about proactive, innovative finance collaboration to protect nature.