Russian Federation reiterates its strong support for CFC
15 October 2024, The Hague. Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC), paid a courtesy visit to the Embassy of the Russian Federation in The Hague, where he met with H.E. Mr. Vladimir Tarabrin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Netherlands. Their discussions centered around the activities of the CFC and potential avenues for future collaboration.
Following an introductory presentation on the CFC’s work, Ambassador Belal briefed Ambassador Tarabrin on both the current and prospective initiatives of the organization. He highlighted the increasing demand for CFC investments, which continues to outpace the available financial resources, emphasizing the importance of greater support from member states to meet this growing demand. Ambassador Belal also stressed the value of capacity-building programs beyond the traditional scope of CFC projects, drawing attention to lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ambassador Tarabrin appreciated, in his words, the excellent work of CFC and reiterated the strong support of the Russian Federation for the workings of the CFC. The Ambassador of the Russian Federation elaborated on different Russian global initiatives, along with other emerging countries, towards the alleviation of poverty globally.
A key point of the discussion was the ongoing development of the Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund, an initiative designed to bolster CFC’s efforts in poverty alleviation. Ambassador Belal encouraged member countries to join the ACT Fund as anchor investors and promote it within the private sector once the fund is formally established.
Ambassador Belal reaffirmed the CFC's commitment to exploring innovative outreach methods to extend its services to a greater number of people in commodity-dependent developing countries, with a focus on creativity and forward-thinking solutions.
The meeting concluded with mutual assurances of continued support and a commitment to follow up on key actions in the near future.