Director General: Abdulatif Y. Al-Hamad

The Agreement Establishing the Fund was adopted by the Economic and Social Council of the League of Arab States on 16 May 1968, ("the Agreement").  The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States declared the Agreement effective as of 18 December 1971. The first meeting of the Board of Governors was convened on 6 February 1972, and the Fund commenced operations in early 1974.

 

Functions: The AFESD is an Arab regional financial institution, having an independent juridical personality. Its function is to assist the economic and social development of Arab countries through (1) financing development projects, with preference given to overall Arab development and to joint Arab projects; (2) encouraging the investment of private and public funds in Arab projects; and (3) providing technical assistance services for Arab economic and social development.

 

The AFESD also provides secretariat services for the Coordination Secretariat of Arab National and Regional Development Institutions, which meets periodically to discuss ongoing and planned development projects with the intention of streamlining operational procedures among the member institutions. Members of the coordination group are the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the AFESD itself, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, and the Saudi Fund for Development. The Coordination Secretariat publishes, twice per year, a Summary of Loans and Technical Assistance Extended to Developing Countries by Arab National and Regional Development Institutions.

Members of the AFESD includes all 21 Arab countries that are members of the League of Arab states: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.

The Board of Governors is the highest authority. The Board of Directors consists of eight Directors and eight Alternate Directors elected by the Board of Governors for a two-year period. The Board of Directors guides operations in general and exercises powers delegated to it by the Board of Governors.

 

The Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General is elected by the Board of Governors for a five-year period and is responsible for the conduct of operations and appointment of staff.

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