Press Release

 

    

Press Release

OPEC Fund Director-General addresses MENA Finance Conference

Al-Herbish stresses Fund's commitment to the Middle-East and North Africa

13/2005 February 14, 2005, Vienna, Austria

Addressing delegates on Friday at the first Broader MENA Finance Conference in Munich, Germany, OPEC Fund Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, highlighted the contribution of the OPEC Fund to growth, stability and peace in the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Mr. Al-Herbish spoke of the region's enormous potential and of the challenges confronting it. Citing the examples of two OPEC Fund member countries, Saudi Arabia and Algeria, he noted how commitment to economic reform could reap rewards. He stressed, however, that the future development of the region would depend on greater partnership and cooperation, together with external assistance.

The OPEC Fund was a loyal development partner of almost all the countries in the region, Mr. Al-Herbish informed delegates. The Fund had a long history of cooperation with MENA countries, involving assistance to the public sector, as well as, more recently, to private enterprise. With the majority of its member states located there, the Fund felt a strong affinity with the region, he pointed out.

On the subject of development financing, Mr. Al-Herbish revealed that the Arab world [i.e. most of the countries in the MENA region], had an outstanding record of South-South cooperation. Arab national and regional development finance institutions had together made available a cumulative total of US$81.3 billion in resources for development, he said. This was despite the low middle-income status of contributing countries.

Mr. Al-Herbish further praised the generosity of Arab countries, remarking that they had provided more than US$1 billion in disaster relief to victims of the recent tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia.