We strive to make the world a better place

Mohammed Al Suwaidi , Director General of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, highlights the institution's accomplishments in promoting sustainable development globally over the past 50 years, its contributions to the UAE's economic goals, and its involvement in addressing the climate issue

We strive to make the world a better place

Since its inception in 1971, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has been steadily driving economic and social development in the developing world.

This has not been an easy task by any measure; it required meticulous planning, adaptation to the ever-changing needs of each of the countries we serve, patience, dedication, and commitment thanks to the support of our leadership, which enabled us to steer clear of all hurdles to continue to achieve our objectives with confidence and maintain momentum.

In our journey, we have set our own standards. We concentrated on financing infrastructure projects that are key to stimulating economic growth and improving the quality of life. In many of our 103 partner countries, we have invested billions of dirhams to develop all essential infrastructures including power, port, airport, education, and healthcare, in the process empowering the economy, creating jobs, and giving the larger population access to basic needs and facilities.

The aim is to reduce inequality and pave the way to inclusive prosperity, all the way following our own country as our model, a nation that has performed miracles on every front with sheer determination, commitment, and a pragmatic vision. We have experienced first-hand the correlation between economic and social development and job creation, income generation, and reduced risk of conflict and instability. We never lost sight of the fact that investing in developing countries would fuel global economic growth and propel trade.

Sustainability lies at the heart of our organisation. This is also evident in our effort to promote renewable energy and contribute to the global effort to tackle climate change. Yet again, our focus lies on developing countries, which need our support the most especially in their transitional effort towards renewable energy. We leveraged modern and innovative technology to implement some state-of-the-art clean-energy initiatives including waste-to-energy, solar, hydel, and geothermal projects.

Our efforts have not just fulfilled our national objective to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development in the world, but they have also majorly contributed to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (#SDGs), which is no coincidence. We have been clear from the start that we ought to work in tandem with the rest of the world to end inequality and protect our planet so humanity can attain peace and prosperity by 2030.

Amidst all our work we maintained a steady focus on our motherland, where we have been investing in a variety of projects to diversify and strengthen the economy and promote trade ties with countries across continents. We have been working relentlessly to empower our industry and strengthen the export sector through our dedicated export-financing arm, the Abu Dhabi Exports Office . As we face the new world, we hope that our inclusive approach to sustainable development will substantially contribute to global prosperity.