VIENNA, 10th July, 2018 (WAM) -- The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, BSTDB, and the OPEC Fund for International Development, OFID, have signed a cooperation agreement.

Under the agreement, the two development institutions will coordinate efforts to promote 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 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."

In turn, 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 Turkey 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."