H.E. Mr. Amani M. N’Guessan, Minister of National Education of Côte d’Ivoire (left), with H.E. Dr. Saleh A. Al-Omair, Chairman of the Governing Board (center) and H.E. Dr. Y. Seyyid Abdulai, Director-General.

In keeping with its mandate, the Fund continued to give priority to the world's least developed countries (LDCs) during the year 2001. With a combined population of over 600 million, these 49 nations make up the weakest and most vulnerable group in the world economy. Their uniqueness lies not only in the profound poverty of their people but also in their limited economic, institutional and human resources. In addition to deteriorating living standards, many of these impoverished countries have to contend with political unrest, geophysical handicaps and crushing external debt burdens. There remains an acknowledged need within the international community to accord them preferential treatment wherever possible.

In recognition of the unique difficulties confronting LDCs, the OPEC Fund directed almost 52.7% of its total commitments in 2001 to these countries. Altogether, 22 LDCs benefited from loans worth $175 million, while 17 other low-income nations received lending in the amount of $157.3 million. On a cumulative basis, the LDCs have attracted 57.8% of the OPEC Fund's total loan commitments, with the rest going to other low-income developing countries.

Project Lending

Total project loans approved in 2001 by the OPEC Fund numbered 38 and amounted to $273.83 million. The loans were extended to finance operations in 33 developing countries, and helped support projects in the sectors of transportation, agriculture, education, health, energy, telecommunications and water supply and sewerage, as well as operations of a multi-sectoral nature. Continuing a trend established in 1998, transportation commanded the bulk of lending with a substantial 37.5% of commitments, ahead of loans for education, which attracted 22.2%. The water supply and sewerage sector received 9.6% of approvals, followed closely by multi-sectoral loans, which secured 8.5%. The remainder was divided among health (7.7%), agriculture (7.3%), energy (6.2%) and telecommunications (1%).

Loans to the transportation sector benefited 12 countries and totaled $102.76 million. Improving links to remote rural areas was a priority for many recipient countries: Benin ($5.8 million), Cameroon ($9 million), Chad ($4.8 million), Malawi ($9.5 million), Senegal ($6.25 million) and Tanzania ($8 million) all plan to implement road upgrading projects designed to make isolated regions more accessible. Ghana obtained $6.67 million to repair the strategic, but heavily deteriorated, Anyinam-Kumasi road; Korea DPR acquired $4.74 million to rehabilitate the Sinhung-Sonhwan highway, a key corridor that provides links to the country's two main seaports; Lebanon took $10 million to upgrade a 51-km stretch of the Beirut-Tripoli Highway; and Tajikistan secured $4 million to rehabilitate the Shkev-Zigar road. Ethiopia received two loans for its transportation sector: $4 million towards completion of a major expansion project at Addis Ababa International Airport, and $15 million to upgrade to all-weather standard one of the country's most important west-east links, the Gore-Gambella road. Pakistan will use its $15 million loan to carry out modernization of its railways sub-sector.

H.E. Mrs. Bintou Malloum, Ambassador of Chad to Germany, initials the loan agreement for an important road project.

Resources valued at $60.89 million were committed for education projects in six countries. Primary schools are the focus in Angola ($9.39 million), Côte d'Ivoire ($10 million), Equatorial Guinea ($3.6 million) and Kenya ($13.7 million), with loans supporting the construction and upgrading of facilities, as well as the procurement of materials and equipment. Mozambique will devote its $9.2 million loan to improving the delivery of secondary, as well as technical and vocational education, and a $15 million loan to India will help finance expansion of the country's Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology.

In the water supply and sewerage sector, four loans worth a total of $26.3 million were approved to Albania ($2.7 million), Haiti ($6.6 million), Honduras ($5 million) and Yemen ($12 million). With the proceeds, Albania plans large-scale rehabilitation of the country's water distribution network, while Honduras aims to carry out institutional reforms and civil works to improve access to clean water and basic sanitation. For Haiti, goals are to rehabilitate and expand potable water and sanitation infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. Yemen proposes using its loan to overhaul the deteriorated wastewater disposal system of the city of Hodeida.

For agriculture and agro-industry, two loans valued together at $20 million were secured in 2001. Egypt obtained $10 million to carry out extensive rehabilitation of the Buhiyyah Canal irrigation system, while Vietnam intends using its $10 million loan to implement a multipurpose rural development scheme.

Loans to the health sector numbered five and totaled $21.1 million. Zambia ($5.6 million) intends constructing a specialist cancer treatment unit at the University of Zambia Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, and Burkina Faso ($2.5 million) plans to expand facilities at the National Public Health Laboratory in Ouagadougou. Activities to control the spread of HIV/AIDS form a central component of Fund-sponsored initiatives in Djibouti ($2.5 million) and Chad ($8 million), while Lesotho plans to upgrade the Mohlomi Hospital in the capital Maseru with its $2.6 million loan.

Five multi-sectoral loans were approved in 2001: to The Gambia ($5.78 million) and Guatemala ($5 million) for environmental protection schemes, and to Mauritania ($3.5 million) and Sri Lanka ($4 million and $5 million) for a range of small-scale social and economic infrastructure projects.

Two countries obtained loans for energy sector projects: Vietnam ($10 million) and Mozambique ($6.9 million) both plan to use the resources to expand rural electricity services.

In the telecommunications sector one loan of $2.5 million was approved to the Maldives to help finance the establishment of a computer networking system among the islands.

H.E. Mr. Ransford A. Smith, Ambassador of Jamaica (left), and H.E. Dr. Saleh A. Al-Omair, Chairman of the Governing Board, prior to signing a loan agreement.

Public sector project loans approved in 2001 - geographical and sectoral distribution
(in millions of dollars)
Angola		9.390							9.390
Benin							5.800		5.800
Burkina Faso				2.500					2.500
Cameron							9.000		9.000
Chad				8.000			4.800		12.800
Cote d'Ivoire		10.000							10.000
Djibouti				2.500					2.500
Egypt	10.000								10.000
Equatorial G.		3.600							3.600
Ethiopia							19.000		19.000
Gambia, The					5.780				5.780
Ghana							6.670		6.670
Kenya		13.700							13.700
Lesotho				2.600					2.600
Malawi							9.500		9.500
Mauritania					3.500				3.500
Mozambique		9.200	6.900						16.100
Senegal							6.250		6.250
Tanzania							8.000		8.000
Zambia				5.600					5.600
Africa	10.000	45.890	6.900	21.200	9.280		69.020		162.290
India		15.000							15.000
Korea DPR							4.740		4.740
Lebanon							10.000		10.000
Maldives						2.500			2.500
Pakistan							15.000		15.000
Sri Lanka					9.000				9.000
Tajikistan							4.000		4.000
Vietnam	10.000		10.000						20.000
Yemen								12.000	12.000
Asia	10.000	15.000	10.000		9.000	2.500	33.740	12.000	92.240
Guatemala					5.000				5.000
Haiti								6.600	6.600
Honduras								5.000	5.000
Latin America					5.000			11.600	16.600
Albania								2.700	2.700
Europe								2.700	2.700
Total	20.000	60.890	16.900	21.200	23.280	2.500	102.760	26.300	273.830
(percentage)	7.3	22.2	6.2	7.7	8.5	0.9	37.5	9.6	100.0