The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a co-financing agreement to support Thailand’s new economic model for sustainable development.
The OPEC Fund is extending a US$500,000 technical assistance grant to support a project aimed at strengthening Thailand’s bio-circular green (BCG) economy. It is part of the country’s ambitious vision of transforming into a value-based and innovation-driven economy known as “Thailand 4.0.”
OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “The technical assistance provided by the OPEC Fund will strengthen the capacity of the Government of Thailand to integrate its new bio-circular green economy model into national development strategies. With our support we aim to foster sustainable growth and inclusiveness. The approach reflects our shared commitment to promoting sustainable development with the Asian Development Bank.”
ADB Climate Envoy Warren Evans noted, “ADB is committed to the development of innovative approaches that can scale up the flow of climate finance into critical sectors in a just and timely manner. Our financing partnership with the OPEC Fund through this project will build on global best practices and help apply these innovations into locally relevant approaches and pilot projects, thus helping to accelerate green development. We support Thailand’s focus on BCG as an ambitious economic model.”
The project will be administered by the ADB in close collaboration with the National Science Technology and Development Agency of Thailand. It is also supported by the “Republic of Korea e-Asia Knowledge Partnership Fund” and the government of Australia.
Thailand’s BCG model seeks to promote sustainable agriculture, clean energy, responsible consumption and production, as well as the conservation and responsible utilization of biodiversity. It is expected to generate close to US$23 billion of new investments by 2030, with an 85 percent projected contribution from the private sector.
The OPEC Fund’s grant will help to identify investment opportunities and support growth in key sectors within the model such as agriculture and food, energy, materials and biochemicals, wellness and medicine, and tourism among others.
The OPEC Fund and the ADB have cooperated for over 45 years and co-financed projects to which the OPEC Fund contributed US$1.3 billion. Last year the two institutions established the Project Preparation and Implementation Support Trust Fund, administered by the ADB.
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