Netherlands reiterates its support for Common Fund for Commodities (CFC)
H.E. Mr. René van Hell, Director for Inclusive Green Growth, Ambassador for Sustainable Development and Arctic Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, visited the Secretariat of the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) for the first time to learn more about the CFC's activities and its impact on the ground.
Ambassador Belal gave an introduction to the CFC and highlighted the growing demand for CFC investments, which is outpacing the available financing resources. He emphasized the need for greater support infrastructure to meet the expectations of member countries, as well as the global demand for more sustainable and climate friendly interventions.
Both the Ambassadors discussed agenda 2030 and resolved that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. Ambassador Rene highlighted the importance of sustainable and inclusive development so that people have more opportunity to decide their own future.
Furthermore, Ambassador Belal discussed the introduction of the Agricultural Commodity Transformation (ACT) Fund, previously known as CIIF, at the LDC5 Conference in Doha, Qatar in March 2023. He shared the CFC's roadmap for poverty alleviation in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Land Locked Developed Countries (LLDCs), and beyond. Member countries were encouraged to join the ACT Fund as anchor investors and promote it to the private sector.
Ambassador van Hell reiterated their support for the CFC and assured to remain engaged in the days to come. Ambassador Van Hell also expressed his appreciation for the CFC's initiative in launching the ACT Fund and emphasized the importance of commodities and their impact on grassroots communities for alleviation of poverty. Dutch Ambassador also highlighted the centrality of observance of the tenets of inclusive green growth and registered his appreciation for CFC as it already embodied these tenets in its working model giving due priority to climate action, biodiversity, and issues around development challenges. Ambassador van Hell assured to support implementation of the fund.
In response, Ambassador Belal assured the visiting Ambassador that the CFC would continue to pursue innovative approaches to make its services available to as many people as possible in commodity-dependent developing countries. He particularly assured to continue CFC’s mission to use sustainable Dutch innovations and technologies for better productivity in the developing world and thereby bringing the world of developing and developed little closer than what it is. While expressing gratitude for hosting the CFC, Ambassador Belal sought more support as the problem of poverty only got aggravated following polycrisis of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and resultant inflation.
Ambassador Belal was assisted by Impact Investment Manager Peter Andreas Nielsen and ACT Fund Lead/ Impact Investment Manager Michaël van den Berg.
The meeting was concluded with the expression of mutual assurances of support to do the necessary follow up in the days to come.