Press Release

Bolivian Finance Minister pays courtesy call on OFID

57/2006 June 13, 2006, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) today received, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, HE Mr. Luis Alberto Arce Caratoca, Minister of Finance of the Republic of Bolivia.  He had called to pay a courtesy visit and to further explore cooperation between his country and the OPEC Fund.  He met with several OFID ministers and governors and with the Director-General of OFID, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish.  The meetings were on the sidelines of the 27th Session of the Ministerial Council of OFID hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Cooperation between Bolivia and OFID began in 1979; three years after the establishment of the institution.  The Fund had financed an urban water supply and sewerage project at the request of Bolivia.  Since then, 14 other projects and programs had been jointly undertaken by the Fund and Bolivia, the latest being a national universities rehabilitation and modernization project agreed upon last month and pending effectiveness.  Furthermore, several grants had been extended to Bolivia by the Fund in technical assistance and other areas.  A US$250,000 grant was approved by the Fund’s Governing Board today (at its 115th Session) to back expansion of a vocational training center for women in La Paz. 

Indeed, last month, the Bolivian President HE Mr. Evo Morales himself paid a courtesy call on the OFID Director-General at the Fund’s headquarters in Vienna. Mr. Al-Herbish assured the President that OFID would continue with its priority attention to social and economic development in Bolivia.  The President, who was in Austria for an EU-Latin America summit, had words of appreciation for the engagement of the OPEC Fund in Bolivia.  He witnessed the signature ceremony for the national universities rehabilitation and modernization project.

In discussions today with Al-Herbish, Mr. Arce also availed himself of the opportunity of his visit to thank the OPEC Fund for its support to Bolivia over many years. He echoed President Morales, expressing the hope that cooperation between his country and the Fund will be further strengthened.  The minister highlighted Bolivia’s need for private sector financing and said the country would particularly welcome OFID involvement in this area.

Bolivia is a land-locked, low-income Latin-American country, with a population of 9.0 million. Agriculture accounts for 44% of employment and represents 15% of gross domestic product (GDP), with industry accounting for 27% of GDP and employing 18% of the working population.  The OPEC Fund accords priority attention to the world’s least developed countries.