Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources delivered here today the following remarks at G8 meeting of energy ministers' session III: Program of Action to Address Energy Poverty: Focus on Africa. Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. There is no world challenge more critical than poverty, which threatens millions each year - especially African nations. After a period of unprecedented economic growth and improved living standards for the continent, the global downturn, together with high energy prices, has hit the least developed nations hard. We must explore solutions for those African nations that do not produce energy and lack financial access to international markets. Saudi Arabia recognizes assisting the energy poor as an objective firmly in the interests of the international community; the Kingdom's own emerging status reflects solidarity with other developing countries. Assistance, offered bilaterally or through regional and multilateral organizations in which the Kingdom is a shareholder, has been highly concessional, and focused on sustainable economic and social development in accordance with recipient countries' own priorities. For the past 36 years, such assistance has averaged to about 2 percent of our Gross Domestic Product, exceeding the UN target of 0.7 percent. Saudi aid has been geographically diverse, reaching a large number of countries in all developing regions. Until the end of 2008, the Saudi Fund for Development provided soft loans to finance development projects and economic programs in 73 countries, 42 of which are African. Additionally, Saudi Arabia is a major contributor to the OPEC Fund and other regional and international funds delegating large part of their soft loans to African nations. Ladies and gentlemen: Modern energy is essential to development. The economic benefits of increased energy supply to business, industry, agriculture and services are self-evident. Indeed, increased energy provision correlates highly with raised per-capita income. Likewise, increased household access to energy such as electricity diminishes social costs and increases social benefits. The burdens on women who no longer must walk long distances to gather fuel wood and water are dramatically reduced. Lighting becomes available for children to do their homework after dark, while refrigeration serves public health - not only by making food storage safer, but increasing the availability of much-needed medicines in local clinics. Another vital function of energy is the critical importance of modern fuels for transportation, which not only make people and goods mobile, but also help markets function. Their ability to increase agricultural productivity is especially important in rural areas, where the majority of the world's poor live. Similar arguments can be made for fast-growing urban areas of the developing world. --More
