Middle East & North Africa

OFID stresses importance of energy, partnership in pursuit of SDGs

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A high level delegation from the OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, on Tuesday, attended the 11th Arab Energy Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, under the theme ‘Energy and Arab Cooperation’.

VIENNA, Oct 3 2018 - A high level delegation from the OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, on Tuesday, attended the 11th Arab Energy Conference in Marrakech, Morocco, under the theme ‘Energy and Arab Cooperation’.

Suleiman J Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, attended the conference on an invitation of Abbas Al-Naqi, Secretary-General of the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, OAPEC, who was a panellist on the session ‘Energy security as a global partnership’.

OFID’s delegation also included Faris Hasan, Director of Strategic Planning and Economic Services; Dr. Namat Alsoof, Consultant; and Iman Alshammari, Senior Officer.

Al-Herbish said that energy is the engine of economic growth and social progress and noted that the priority given by OFID to eradicating energy poverty in developing countries was inspired by OFID member countries themselves. That priority, he said, stems from the Riyadh Declaration – issued at the conclusion of the 3rd OPEC Summit in November 2007 – which established the eradication of energy poverty as an objective. “Our Ministerial Council has approved the allocation of a renewed US$1 billion to this end,” Al-Herbish added.

Since 2007, OFID has advocated tirelessly for energy poverty to be given the priority it deserves in the post-2015 Development Agenda. These efforts – alongside those of OFID’s friends in the international development arena – have culminated in access to energy for all being recognised as Sustainable Development Goal 7, SDG 7, a stand-alone goal in the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Al-Herbish noted that supporting development operations in the energy sector lies at the heart of OFID’s strategic plan to 2025. He stressed, however, that energy poverty remains a challenge that can only be overcome through strategic partnerships, highlighting that OFID has built strong and diverse partnership networks to expand geographic coverage and operational activities.

Al-Herbish reaffirmed OFID’s commitment to supporting sustainable development plans in Arab countries, particularly energy projects, and outlined various operation supported by OFID in the region, which include US$1.6 billion to finance 14 traditional and 15 renewable energy projects in a number of Arab countries.

Chaired by Aziz Rabah, Minister of Energy, Minerals and Sustainable Development of Morocco, the 11th Arab Energy Conference, which concludes tomorrow, brings together experts from the energy industry, led by ministers of Arab countries, as well as directors of Arab and other organisations.

 

WAM/Rola Alghoul/Rasha Abubaker

 
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