OPEC FUND DIRECTOR GENERAL AWARDED ORDER OF THE TWO NILES Khartoum, the Sudan

The Republic of the Sudan (Jamhuryat es-Sudan) today joined the list of countries conferring high honors on HE Dr. Y. Seyyid Abdulai, Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development, as he nears the close of his 20-year tenure as Chief Executive Officer of the institution.  The Sudan today bestowed on Dr. Abdulai the Order of the Two Niles (First Class); the country’s highest national decoration.  The conferment, by HE the Sudanese President, Mr. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, took place today in Khartoum.

By the decoration, the people and government of the Sudan were expressing recognition for what the President called the fruitful relations between the OPEC Fund and the Sudan which span over 27 years - the entire length of the Fund’s existence.  The Sudan is one of the very first countries to obtain OPEC Fund assistance in the form of balance-of-payments support, shortly after the institution began operations.  In a statement at the awards ceremony, Dr. Abdulai thanked the nation and said the OPEC Fund was “constantly aware of the development needs and prospects of the country and had done what it could to be of assistance.”  He also thanked the national authorities for their “continuing cooperation and warm relations with the Fund” and for “the priority they accord to working with the institution.”

Prior to the Sudanese award, Dr. Abdulai had been honored by his home country, Nigeria, which made him an Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), and by Austria, the host-country of the OPEC Fund, which conferred on him the Grand Decoration of Honor (in silver with sash).  Dr. Abdulai has been Director-General of the OPEC Fund since August, 1983.

 October 2003