Saudi Arabia's Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al Jadaan, has called upon Opec member states to work together to build a climate-resilient future.

 

Addressing the Opec Fund for International Development (OFID) Ministerial Meeting and Forum, held last week in Vienna, Austria, he noted that supporting both adaptation and mitigation policies requires a strong and well-regulated financial system that provides a sustainable business environment, and called for the use of the large and growing international pool of funds to finance green transitions.

 

Al Jadaan underscored the importance of considering security of energy supply and economic development in parallel with climate change challenges, explaining that no country will be able to grow and prosper without the availability of reliable energy sources.

 

The minister explained that Opec had proved in recent years its reliability in stabilising energy supplies and maintaining global economic health, noting that the recent fuel shortage was largely driven by lack of refining capacity, followed by underinvestment in energy capital expenditures.

 

He welcomed OFID's efforts on global strategic development challenges, such as the climate change and energy transition, as well as the looming food crisis, appreciating in this context the initiative announced by the fund at the meeting of the Arab Coordination Group regarding the timely support of $10 billion for the Joint Action Plan for Food Security. 

 

He also emphasized the importance of strengthening OFID fund collaboration with other partners to achieve greater progress and broader development impact.

 

On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, the Minister of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding with OFID relating to the appointment of qualified employees of the Ministry of Finance to the fund.

 

Saudi Arabia is the largest contributor to OFID, which was established in 1976 with the aim of strengthening cooperation among member states to help low-income poor countries increase their economic and social growth. - TradeArabia News Service