Managing Director meets the Ambassador of Qatar
Ambassador Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Managing Director of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) met H.E. Mr. Nasser Allenqawi, Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Netherlands at their Embassy in The Hague. They discussed the issues related to commodities and poverty at this challenging time of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
During exchange of pleasantries, Ambassador Belal thanked Ambassador Allenqawi for inviting him to their Embassy and briefed on the history of CFC’s becoming an international financial organizations under the auspices and leadership of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Ambassador Belal also briefed Ambassador Allenqawi on the current as well as probable future initiatives of the CFC and its impact on the ground. Ambassador Belal invited the State of Qatar, through Ambassador Allenqawi, to join the CFC and thereby imprinting their footprint across the commodity value chains and thereby make alleviation of poverty truly as a shared mission.
Ambassador Belal also shared with Ambassador Allenqawi on the ongoing initiative on the formulation of a fund titled CIIF (Commodity Impact Investment Facility) and thereby enabling CFC to contribute more for alleviation of poverty. Once formed, CIIF could also be an avenue for the State of Qatar to join this impact investment fund as an anchor investor.
The meeting further discussed various concepts of financing which may be of interest to commodity dependent developing countries. The concept of Islamic Finance and its potential to lower the cost of financing was also discussed. Ambassador Belal also assured to pursue more innovative outreaches in the days to come to make the services of CFC available to as many people as possible in the commodity dependent developing world, with a heightened sense of innovations and creativity.
Ambassador Belal congratulated Ambassador Alllenqawi for being the host of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) conference and thereby becoming the host for the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022-2031 (DPoA).
Ambassador Belal hoped that Qatar, as it proved many times of its power of innovation and resilience, would bring much needed innovation and resilience to this DPoA. With so much of affluence and resources around, the world should not suffer from the kind of poverty that we see in some part of the world, Amb. Belal added.
Ambassador Allenqawi assured Ambassador Belal that the State of Qatar will actively consider the proposals from CFC and shall surely find a way to work together for the cause of sustainability.