The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group have signed an amendment to their memorandum of understanding, to strengthen their cooperation framework across both public and private sector activities, as well as in co-financing and knowledge-sharing, to jointly support sustainable development across Africa. The signing took place at the AfDB head office in the Côte d’Ivoire, during an AfDB-OPEC Fund Partnership Day.

“Africa remains central to the OPEC Fund’s mission,” highlighted OPEC Fund president Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. “Our partnership with the AfDB continues to evolve into a more strategic and impact-driven collaboration, focused on accelerating delivery and supporting country-led development priorities. By working together, we can scale solutions and deliver stronger results for people and communities across the continent.”

The AfDB and the OPEC Fund have worked together for almost 50 years. Their partnership has covered about 120 projects, involving co-financing totalling $1.5-billion. These projects were in the agriculture, education, energy, financial, health, transport and water sectors.

During his visit to the Côte d’Ivoire, Alkhalifa visited the Atinkou power plant, co-financed by the OPEC Fund, the AfDB and other international development partners. This was a flagship project, a 390-MW combined cycle gas plant that has reinforced the West African country’s baseload power generation capacity, by providing a reliable electricity supply for both industry and households. The new plant has replaced old and inefficient generating capacity.

The OPEC Fund president will also take part in a high-level meeting between the AfDB and the Arab Coordination Group. This is also intended to increase coordination between development partners and support the long-term growth and resilience of Africa.

Since it was established in 1976, the OPEC Fund has provided financing of more than $30-billion to development projects, which has had an estimated total project cost of more than $200-billion. These projects are spread across more than 125 countries.