Vienna: - The Arab Coordination Group (ACG), a strategic alliance of ten local and regional development institutions, has provided US$15.7 billion to finance nearly 500 operations in over 80 countries in 2022. The Group’s financing helped to address urgent global challenges such as global food insecurity and climate change, provided support to key economic sectors and helped facilitate international trade. The largest share of ACG member’s commitments in 2022 were dedicated to energy (27 percent), financial sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) (27 percent) and agriculture (21 percent).
The ACG Heads of Institutions met in Vienna for their eighteenth annual meeting, hosted by the OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund). The Group has collectively agreed to scale up their support to Africa with the issuance of a joint Communiqué which will be solidified on the margins of the Arab-African Summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in November 2023. The Communiqué calls to strengthen ACG joint commitments on Food Security and Climate Action Financing by 2030, in addition to deploying all available financing modalities through a comprehensive range of initiatives designed to address African countries’ development priorities and challenges.
OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “The ACG’s collective global impact demonstrates the Group’s dedication to development action and delivery. The challenges we are facing require even stronger collaboration and deeper partnerships. The OPEC Fund is committed to play a vital role, continuing to strongly contribute to address food insecurity and climate change.”
The ACG announced a US$10 billion commitment to address global food insecurity in June 2022 and a US$24 billion climate facility in November last year at the UN Climate Conference COP 27 in Egypt. In their meeting today members of the ACG reported on the implementation of these commitments. They also discussed increased collaboration to support the least developed economies. The Group has underlined the need to collectively scale-up private sector engagement to attract investments and foster public-private partnerships that can help promote economic growth, facilitate the creation of employment, and generate significant improvements in living conditions.
Additionally, the Group has underscored their commitment to achieving the ambitious goals of the upcoming UN Climate Conference COP28 in UAE, aligning their efforts with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement, promoting a just energy transition with a focus on renewables, advancing adaptation action and implementing the previously announced climate financing to address the global climate crisis.
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About the Arab Coordination Group
The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) is a strategic alliance that provides a coordinated response to development finance. Since its establishment in 1975, ACG has been instrumental in developing economies and communities for a better future, providing more than 1,000 development loans to over 160 countries around the globe. Comprising of ten development funds, ACG is the second-largest grouping of development finance institutes in the world and works across the globe to support developing nations and create a lasting, positive impact.
The Group comprises the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Qatar Development Fund and the Saudi Fund for Development.
