Qatar is one of the founding members of IFAD. Arab Gulf countries financed about 20 per cent of IFAD’s initial funding and its First and Second Replenishments and, as a result, have a strong voice in IFAD’s governance. The Fund’s first three presidents were Arab nationals. Qatar’s support to IFAD is critical to combat poverty and strengthen development in developing countries. While Gulf countries do not borrow, they have an interest in agricultural development in the Arab world and many of their financial institutions partner with IFAD as cofinanciers. IFAD serves as an instrument enabling Qatar to channel resources to developing countries’ agriculture, and as a global forum on agriculture and food security in which Gulf countries play a key role.

Through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world has set ambitious objectives to end poverty, hunger and to overcome inequality in a sustainable manner by 2030. Achieving the 2030 Agenda will require a profound transformation of food systems, including the agriculture sector, as well as the transformation of rural economies, as recently highlighted in IFAD’s Rural Development Report 2016. IFAD is the only United Nations specialized agency and international financial institution focused exclusively on reducing poverty and food insecurity in rural areas through agriculture and rural development.

In 2005, during the fourth session of the Seventh Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources held in Doha, Qatar became the first Member State to announce a pledge of US$10 million, jumpstarting the replenishment effort. As a result, IFAD increased its investment in rural poverty reduction by 10 per cent per year to US$2 billion over the period 2007-2009.

Qatar’s support to the Eleventh Replenishment of IFAD’s Resources (IFAD11) is more critical today than ever to ensure increasing investments in rural areas and to enable IFAD to play an even stronger role in helping the world’s poorest citizens escape from poverty.