Opening remarks by Anna Bjerde, World Bank Managing Director of Operations, at the OPEC Fund Development Forum 2026

“Powering Progress: Advancing Integrated Energy and Water Systems for Shared Gains” Vienna, Austria – June 23, 2026 As prepared for delivery Thank you, Andreas, and good afternoon. It is a pleasure to open this panel. I have just returned from the Middle East, and last year I was in Central Asia. What stayed with me was not only the severity of the pressures countries are facing. It was also the seriousness of the response. Leaders are asking very practical questions: how do we keep water flowing, power reliable, lands irrigated, food systems productive, firms competitive, and young people employed—all at the same time? The answer is increasingly clear. Energy and water can no longer be managed as separate sectors. They are one interconnected system. Water depends on energy for pumping, treatment, and desalination. Energy depends on water for hydropower, cooling, and production. When one system fails, the other weakens. When they are planned together, countries can reduce risk, improve efficiency, and sustain services under much more complex conditions. This is not only an infrastructure issue. It is also a jobs issue. Because reliable energy and water are the foundation of productive economies, they support people’s well-being, sustain growth, and drive job creation. At the World Bank Group, jobs are now an explicit aim of everything we do. Over the next 10 to 15 years, 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will reach working age, but only about 400 million jobs are expected to be created. That gap is one of the defining development challenges of our generation. And jobs do not appear by accident. They require three things to come together: foundational infrastructure, an enabling business environment, and private capital at scale. Energy and water sit at the center of all three. Let me briefly reflect on each. First, foundational infrastructure. No economy can create jobs at scale without reliable power and reliable water. Firms cannot grow when electricity is intermittent. Farmers cannot produce without water. Cities cannot attract investment when services are unreliable. And people cannot thrive when investments in health and education lack the energy and safe water needed to deliver. These systems underpin productivity across sectors. Yet the gaps remain significant. Nearly 4 billion people face some form of water insecurity, and more than a billion people still lack access to energy. In the Middle East and North Africa, over 60 percent of the population lives under high or extreme water stress. In Central Asia, water availability could decline sharply by 2050, even as demand rises. Meeting this challenge requires integrated systems. We are seeing what works. The Central Asia Water and Energy Program is mobilizing large-scale financing by linking energy, water, and agriculture. And the gains can be significant. In Uzbekistan’s South Karakalpakstan region, irrigation modernization cut energy consumption by 60 million kWh — equal to the annual electricity use of half a million households — while reducing electricity costs by 80 percent. At the other end of the spectrum, we also see what integration looks like at scale. In Tajikistan, hydropower is central not only to the country's energy future, but also to water management, flood risk mitigation, and regional electricity trade. The Rogun Hydropower Project has the potential to improve reliable electricity access for millions while strengthening the regional energy market in Central Asia. This is what integration looks like at scale, where infrastructure, institutions, and regional cooperation come together. We are also scaling this approach across regions. Through platforms like Mission 300, which aims to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030 by aligning reform, financing, and delivery across the entire energy value chain. The same logic underpins Water Forward, which aims to improve water security for one billion people by 2030 through country-led compacts that bring together governments, partners, and the private sector. The lesson is clear: access matters, but reliability and affordability are what turn access into jobs. The OPEC Fund and many of you in this room are already part of these efforts, and I want to thank you for that. Second, enabling environments, because infrastructure alone is not enough to create jobs at scale. Countries need strong institutions, credible regulation, financially sustainable utilities, and coordination across sectors. This is especially critical in the energy-water nexus, where pricing, subsidies, planning, and governance directly affect performance. We see this clearly across countries. Jordan is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world and offers a strong example. Its desalination program is not just about water; it is also about energy, fiscal sustainability, and resilience. What makes it work is the reform behind it: aligning water and energy planning, strengthening the financial sustainability of utilities, and putting in place credible regulatory frameworks to attract private capital. I am sure Minister Toukan will tell us more about this during the panel. Across the region, success depends on the same fundamentals: capable institutions, coordinated policy, sustained cooperation with neighboring countries, and the ability to deliver. Without this, systems underperform and investment does not translate into results. Let me turn to the third priority: mobilizing private capital. The scale of investment needs is far beyond what public resources can meet. Energy demand is rising. Water stress is intensifying. Systems require long-term capital across generation, grids, desalination, irrigation, and networks. But private capital does not come simply because needs are large. It comes when projects are bankable, policies are predictable, institutions are credible, risks are shared, and tariffs reflect cost recovery. This is where multilateral development banks, together with partners like the OPEC Fund, play a critical role—supporting reforms, structuring projects, and mobilizing financing at scale. And the opportunity is significant. Integrated energy and water systems create jobs across agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, digital services, and local construction. They support more resilient economies and expand opportunity, including for women and young people. Let me close with three messages. First, integration is no longer optional. Energy policy is water policy. Water policy is energy policy. And both are jobs policy. Second, institutions matter as much as infrastructure. Investment must be matched with reform to deliver lasting results. Third, we need platforms, not projects. Mission 300 and Water Forward point the way—aligning country ownership, partner coordination, private capital, and delivery. What I saw in the Middle East and Central Asia is that countries are not waiting. They are reforming, investing, and moving forward. Our task is to help them move faster, with better data, stronger institutions, and financing at scale. If we get this right, energy and water systems will do more than deliver services. They will power progress through jobs, growth, and resilience. And they will help ensure that the next generation has the opportunity it deserves. Thank you, and I look forward to the discussion.