28/07/2014 08:27 AST
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) articulates the UAE’s continued commitment to support the development process of emerging countries. Towards this priority, ADFD offers soft loans and manages government grants to projects that play a key role in shaping the growth of these countries.
In addition, it also makes long-term investments and direct contributions that stimulate the private sector in the recipient countries and plays an essential role in accelerating economic growth.
Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, Director General of ADFD, said: The fund has become a pioneering example in the field of development aid.
Starting with a capital of Dhs500 million in 1971, the total value of the grants and loans provided by the fund by the end of the second quarter of 2014 reached Dhs61 billion including Dhs27.7 billion short and long-term loans, and Dhs41 billion provided as government grants.
The fund has so far financed 416 development projects in 69 countries around the world, reflecting its continuing commitment in playing an effective role in alleviating poverty in developing countries, and setting them on a development path.
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), the Abu Dhabi government-controlled leading provider of foreign development aid, is marking its 43rd anniversary this month.
Established on July 15, 1971 on the directive of the UAE’s founder President, the late His Highness Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, ADFD is today one of the most prominent development aid providers in the world and a role model in providing financial aid to fight the cause of global poverty.
Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi said: “On the occasion of ADFD’s 43rd anniversary, we would like to record our appreciation and gratitude to late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan who established this fund out of his deep conviction that it is the duty of the UAE to lend a helping hand to friendly countries, and contribute to the economic development and improved living standards of those countries.”
ADFD’s funding strategy focuses on sectors that are vital for both economic and social development such as agriculture, electricity, water, transportation, industry, renewable energy, as well as social, health and housing services.
Over the years, the fund has consistently responded to the changing directions of global development aid by increasing its capital from Dhs8 billion to Dhs16 billion, and lately by developing its five-year strategy (2012 - 2016).
Among the major projects managed by ADFD are Ma’rib Dam in Yemen, which was financed by a government grant in 1986 and is considered one of the largest projects in Yemen.
In the Arab world, ADFD has provided more than Dhs54 billion to finance projects in Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Algeria, Mauritania, Tunisia, Lebanon, Somalia, Djibouti, and the Comoros Islands.
In Asia, ADFD has financed projects worth Dhs3.691 billion in Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Mongolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and the Maldives.
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