The development lender also introduced the V2V compact for 74 climate-vulnerable economies and signed its first local-currency loan in Azerbaijan at its 2026 forum.
The OPEC Fund for International Development closed its 2026 Development Forum and golden jubilee events by launching two new development initiatives and mobilizing more than $2.8 billion in financing, partnerships and programs for partner countries. The package includes agreements signed at the forum and new loans and initiatives approved in the second quarter of 2026, aimed at economic reforms, climate resilience, social protection, transport links, trade finance, small and medium-sized enterprises and critical infrastructure. The forum’s flagship announcements were the "Vulnerability to Viability Compact" (V2V) and a $1.5 billion digital transformation action plan. The V2V compact, launched with the Government of Barbados in its role as chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the V20 finance ministers, is designed to improve access to affordable, reliable and long-term development finance for 74 climate-vulnerable economies, with early priorities including water security, education and health. The digital plan is intended to guide investments through 2030 in digital infrastructure, skills and applications across partner countries, establishing digital transformation as the institution’s third cross-cutting priority alongside climate action and food security. The forum also advanced more than $450 million in new financing commitments, including the OPEC Fund’s first local-currency loan in Azerbaijan through a financing agreement with Bank Respublika. Other deals included an €80 million loan to Armenia for business-climate and competitiveness reforms, a separate $50 million non-sovereign loan to Ameriabank for trade finance focused on agribusiness and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, a $65 million syndicated loan arranged for the East African Development Bank, a $180 million country partnership strategy for Mauritania for 2026–2029 plus a separate $15 million social protection loan, and a $31.5 million road rehabilitation loan for Nicaragua. More than 600 leaders and representatives from member and partner countries, development institutions, the private sector and civil society attended the Vienna forum under the theme "A transition that empowers our future." The OPEC Fund also expanded strategic cooperation through agreements with the Digital Cooperation Organization, Gavi, the Islamic Organization for Food Security, the Middle East Green Initiative Secretariat and Saudi Eksab, while holding Arab Coordination Group meetings and roundtables with partners including the V20 Group, CAF (Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean), the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank.