PRESS RELEASE The Government of Sierra Leone and OPEC Fund for International Development Strengthen Cooperation with US$260 Million-Partnership Agreement following the High-Level Investment Roundtable

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VIENNA, Austria – Thursday, 3rd July 2025: The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) have signed a landmark three-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) Agreement, in the amount of US$ 260 million, to cooperate on key development initiatives during the period July 2025 – June 2028.

The CPF Agreement was signed by the Minister of Finance, Hon. Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura and the President of OFID, Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa. The CPF Agreement will finance critical projects that contribute to promoting agriculture, agribusiness, renewable energy, road infrastructure and transport sectors.The endorsement from OFID underscores the organization’s mandate to drive development, strengthen communities and empower people through the provision of finance from member nations to non-member countries and fulfilling the announcement by President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa to support Sierra Leone’s development aspirations aligned with the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2024 – 2030 and towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

“The partnership between the OPEC Fund and Sierra Leone is about much more than financing. It is a commitment to progress: in roads that connect people, in energy projects that empower communities and in clean water systems that sustain life itself.”, said Dr. Abdulhamid AlKhalifa, President of the Vienna-based organization.

The OPEC Fund’s financial support is geared specifically towards the establishment of Sierra Leone’s Agricultural Finance Bank (US$ 50M) Irrigation and Water Management Infrastructure (US$ 55M), the upgrade and rehabilitation of Bumbuna 1 (US$ 45M), the construction of the Kambia – Kychom Road (US$ 50M), the development of a Rice Value Chain in Kambia District by the African Development Bank – AfDB (US$ 50M) and Capacity Strengthening, Policy and Programme Support (US$ 10M). This is in addition to US$200,000 grant for the establishment of a Climate Finance and Energy Innovation Hub at the Presidential Initiative on Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Food Security (PI-CREF).

“This agreement marks a significant milestone in Sierra Leone’s sustainable development journey. By leveraging the OPEC Fund’s financial support, Sierra Leone is not only enhancing its visibility among international partners but also accessing affordable capital to take charge of our development while welcoming credible partners to join in. I am delighted to have signed this accord on behalf of H.E. President Bio,” underscored Sierra Leone’s Finance Minister, Hon. Sheku Bangura.

“With the OPEC Fund’s, we are advancing the food systems transformation at the core of the President’s flagship agenda, Feed Salone,” said Dr. Henry Musa Kpaka, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.

For his part, Hon. Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman of PI-CREF and the Energy Governance Coordination Group (EGCG) and current Sector Lead of the Ministery of Energy (MoE) extended gratitude to the leadership of OPEC Fund and to President Bio “for his leadership and for encouraging PI-CREF to work with our international partners to convene, showcase Sierra Leone’s priority projects and mobilize funding.”