Iranian minister Farhad Dejpasand becomes chairman of OFID Ministerial Council

Iranian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Farhad Dejpasand has been elected as the chairman of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Ministerial Council on Thursday at the 40th annual session of the body, according to reports.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development (OFID) is the intergovernmental development finance institution established in 1976 by the Member States of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OFID was conceived at the Conference of the Sovereigns and Heads of State of OPEC Member Countries, which was held in Algiers, Algeria, on March 1975. A Solemn Declaration of the Conference "reaffirmed the natural solidarity which unites OPEC countries with other developing countries in their struggle to overcome underdevelopment," and called for measures to strengthen cooperation between these countries.

The OFID aims to promote cooperation between OPEC Member Countries and other developing countries as an expression of South-South solidarity and to help particularly the poorer, low-income countries in pursuit of their social and economic advancement.