Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Haruhiko Kuroda and the Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will expand the existing cooperation between the two organizations. The agreement was signed just before the 44th Annual Meeting of the ADB's Board of Governors, which runs from 3 May to 6 May in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. "In working together, ADB and OFID will improve coordination in development activities in our common partner countries and in those priority sectors that we both share," said Mr. Kuroda ahead of the signing ceremony. Under this MOU, ADB and OFID will work closely to identify projects with a view to jointly financing them. The two organizations will exchange information to better support each others' activities and will hold consultations to discuss issues of common interest, including helping the region's poor to access energy to support economic growth and improve livelihoods. Commenting on the signing, Mr. Al-Herbish said "this agreement enhances our existing framework of institutional cooperation, benefiting OFID and ADB common partner countries and Asian regional initiatives." The MOU formalizes a long-standing relationship between the two organizations that dates back to 1976 when OFID was established. To date, the two institutions have jointly implemented 90 projects amounting to $765 million in the following countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Uzbekistan.
