The OPEC Fund for International Development announced the launch of two major development initiatives at its 2026 Development Forum and Golden Jubilee commemoration.
The initiatives include the Vulnerability to Viability Compact and a $1.5 billion Digital Transformation Action Plan. The OPEC Fund also advanced more than $2.8 billion in new financing, partnerships, and development programs across partner countries.
The Vulnerability to Viability Compact was launched by the OPEC Fund and the Government of Barbados, which serves as Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 Finance Ministers. The compact is designed to expand access to affordable, predictable, and long-term development finance for 74 climate-vulnerable economies.
The compact brings together 74 climate-vulnerable economies and 14 partner development finance institutions. Initial areas of focus include water security, education, and health.
The OPEC Fund also unveiled its $1.5 billion Digital Transformation Action Plan, which will guide investments in digital infrastructure, capabilities, and applications in developing countries through 2030. The initiative makes digital transformation the institution’s third cross-cutting priority, alongside climate action and food security.
The OPEC Fund Development Forum 2026 brought together more than 600 leaders and representatives from member and partner countries, development institutions, the private sector, and civil society. The forum was held under the theme “A Transition That Empowers Our Tomorrow.”
Beyond the two flagship initiatives, the forum advanced more than $450 million in new financing commitments to support economic resilience, access to finance, and essential infrastructure.
In Armenia, an €80 million loan will support reforms focused on the business environment, investment, trade, competition, and greener growth. A separate $50 million non-sovereign loan to Ameriabank will support trade finance, with a focus on agribusiness and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
In Azerbaijan, the OPEC Fund provided a $20 million-equivalent local currency loan to Bank Respublika to support local businesses and SMEs. This marks the OPEC Fund’s first local currency financing operation in Azerbaijan.
In East Africa, a $65 million syndicated loan facility arranged for the East African Development Bank will support SMEs and critical infrastructure, including $25 million mobilized from First Abu Dhabi Bank.
In Mauritania, a Country Partnership Strategy with a $180 million envelope for 2026 through 2029 will focus on climate-resilient infrastructure, food security, and rural value chains. A separate $15 million loan will support social protection for vulnerable populations through the Resilience and Productive Safety Nets Program.
In Nicaragua, a $31.5 million loan will support rehabilitation of the Empalme Telica-Malpaisillo-Empalme San Isidro road, improving connectivity and benefiting rural communities.
The forum also expanded the OPEC Fund’s strategic partnerships through cooperation agreements with the Digital Cooperation Organization, Gavi, the Islamic Organization for Food Security, the Middle East Green Initiative Secretariat, and Saudi Eksab. These agreements support collaboration across digital transformation, sustainable health financing, immunization, food and water security, climate action, and sustainable investment.
The OPEC Fund was established in 1976 and provides financing from member countries to non-member countries. To date, the organization has committed more than $32 billion to development projects in over 125 countries.
KEY QUOTES:
“The development landscape is changing profoundly, but the central challenge remains the same: ensuring that countries have access to the finance, technology and partnerships they need to achieve their development goals on their own terms. In our 50th anniversary year, the OPEC Fund is not only reflecting on five decades of cooperation but looking ahead to the challenges and opportunities that will shape the next fifty years.”
“The V2V Compact and our Digital Transformation Action Plan respond to two defining priorities of our time. Climate-vulnerable countries need access to finance on terms that reflect their realities, while all countries need the infrastructure and capabilities to participate fully in a rapidly changing digital economy. Both initiatives are grounded in the same principle: development must be country-led, inclusive and capable of delivering lasting resilience.”
Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, President of the OPEC Fund
