The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) have signed an agreement to provide $1.5-million in grant funding for technical assistance support for Madagascar’s National Clean Cooking Transition Programme. The two agencies also signed a declaration to reinforce their partnership in promoting the energy transition and securing access to energy.

“We are very pleased to expand our cooperation with UNIDO and to support our flagship clean cooking programme in Madagascar with UNIDO’s vast technical and advisory expertise, which is critical for effective implementation,” enthused OPEC Fund director-general Dr Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.

The grant from the OPEC Fund will finance both detailed studies and pilot programmes as part of the Madagascan programme. The complete programme is being funded by a $35-million loan from the OPEC Fund. UNIDO and other project partners will develop a framework to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the programme and to measure its impact on the country’s development. This will allow the programme to be repeated in other countries.

“I am pleased to begin a new era of partnership with a new quality of cooperation with the OPEC Fund,” affirmed UNIDO director-general Gerd Müller. “As a start, UNIDO is working with the OPEC Fund to expand the use of clean fuels and technologies, improving health and living conditions of communities in Madagascar. This partnership will make a difference as we plan to roll out clean cooking solutions to 500 000 households in five cities across the country.”

“We continue to strengthen synergies with new and existing partners through the recently launched Climate Finance and Energy Innovation Hub and look forward to collaborating with UNIDO to help deliver the Sustainable Development Goals,” highlighted Alkhalifa.

This innovation hub was launched in June last year and is a partnership between the OPEC Fund, the UN Capital Development Fund and Sustainable Energy for All (an organisation affiliated to the UN). Its purpose is to speed up access to affordable and clean energy in developing countries. Clean cooking is its priority and Madagascar is the first country in which its approach is being implemented. Its support is available to other developing countries which make clean cooking a central element of their integrated energy plans.