The OPEC countries’ collective policy is to offer external development assistance free from political or commercial ties, with the purpose of expressing the solidarity of one group of developing countries with the rest. Since 1976, this policy has found vigorous practical expression in the operations and activities of the OPEC fund. First published in 1983, this book describes the Fund’s organisational evolution into a fully-fledged international body, detailing the fund’s achievements in providing loans and grants to over 80 countries with operations based on principles that have influenced the whole development movement. Concrete examples are outlined, such as where the fund has acted as a catalyst for development, or a spokesman for a group of countries in international negotiations.

This publication describes further progress of ongoing and recently undertaken initiatives for the Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI). It highlights the issues and many of the encouraging outcomes resulting from earlier efforts. It also explores issues expected to emerge in the future, and how they will be dealt with. PSDI is a regional technical assistance facility cofinanced by the Australian Agency for International Development. It supports and encourages inclusive, private sector–led, sustainable economic growth among Pacific developing member countries of the Asian Development Bank. PSDI focuses on improving access to financial services, business law reform, and state-owned enterprise reform and public–private partnerships in the region.

This paper evaluates Niger’s Third Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) Arrangement and Requests for Modification and Waiver of Performance Criteria. Performance under the program at end-December 2001 was broadly satisfactory, despite delays in foreign assistance disbursements and recurring weaknesses in program implementation owing to limited institutional capacity. At end-December 2001, eight of the eleven quantitative and structural benchmarks were met. The program remained on track at end-March 2002 as the authorities took expenditure-reducing measures to correct for budgetary slippages that occurred in the last quarter of 2001.