Black Sea Trade and Development Bank Builds Up Cooperation with the OPEC Fund for International Development
Press Release | 09-Jul-2018
Today, the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) signed a Cooperation Agreement. Under the Agreement, the two development institutions will coordinate efforts to promote the economic and social development of countries of the Black Sea region through financing private sector projects, trade transactions and private equity investments.
“OFID is very pleased to be working with the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to support development within its member countries,” said OFID Director-General Suleiman J Al-Herbish. Since OFID’s inception, and through our public and private operations, we have approved more than US$ 1.3 billion to eligible countries in the Black Sea region, and with the signing of this Agreement we look forward to further scaling up our support.”
Al-Herbish added: “This Cooperation Agreement shows we are committed to strengthening development financing through private sector funding and illustrates our belief that international trade is essential to strong and growing economies. It is also a good example of how we look to build partnerships to tackle the complexities of sustainable development.”
Ihsan Ugur Delikanli, BSTDB President, said: "Development finance institutions need to forge synergies to increase effectiveness and make a real difference. Our signing today is based on the already established successful interaction between BSTDB and OFID on a major project in Türkiye and we hope this MOU will help us to develop a meaningful and long lasting cooperation in the Black Sea region, bringing funds more quickly where they are needed.”
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OFID is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a channel of aid to developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world. It does this by providing financing to build essential infrastructure, strengthen social services delivery and promote productivity, competitiveness and trade. OFID’s work is people-centered, focusing on projects that meet basic needs – such as food, energy, clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. OFID aims to encourage self-reliance and inspire hope for the future. For more information, please visit www.ofid.org.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. BSTDB is rated long-term “A-” by Standard and Poor’s and “A2” by Moody’s. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.
Press contact:
Haroula Christodoulou
Phone: +30 2310 290533
E-mail: cchristodoulou@bstdb.org