African Development Bank Group (AfDB) concluded its 2017 Annual Meetings on Thursday in Ahmedabad, India, on a high note of optimism generated by the Bank’s good balance sheet and the early successes of its High 5 priorities
The 52nd Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and the 43rd Meetings of the Board of Governors of the African Development Fund (ADF), reviewed and endorsed the Bank’s 2016 Annual Report and its programmes for the coming year. The Governors praised the robust net incomes recorded by all three windows of the Bank Group which exceeded the achievements of the previous year.
The Governors (Ministers of Finance, Economy, Planning and, in certain cases, Central Bank Governors) representing the 80 member countries of Africa’s premier development finance institution, commended the Boards of Directors, Management and staff of the Bank for exceeding its lending and disbursement targets for 2016; and encouraged them to continue to strive to achieve more.
The Governors expressed their appreciation of the Bank’s role in attracting more investment for youth in agriculture and the implementation of the Bank Group’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative. “In particular, we encourage the Bank to enhance its partnerships for enabling access to agribusiness as a driving force for agricultural transformation,” the Governors said.
The meeting also applauded the Bank’s role in the New Deal for Energy in Africa, which aims at providing millions of households with electricity by 2025. “We encourage the Bank to continue to highlight the need for strong political will on climate change in this regard and in line with the 2016 Paris Agreement. Furthermore, we encourage the Bank to help leverage opportunities and overcome barriers, including access to finance to achieve the transformation of the energy sector,” they said.
AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and members of his government for providing appropriate structures and an excellent environment for the success of the meetings.
“To Prime Minister Modi, a very big thank you for hosting us and honoring us with your presence and for your very warm words: ‘Let us make history together for Africa,’” Adesina said.
He said that the Bank needed "bold optimism" backed by greater financial resources comparable to the kind of optimism that made Warren Buffet give US$30bn to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006, to do more for the world.
“So, let ‘bold optimism’ from this Annual Meeting in India bubble and inspire us to accelerate financing, urgently, for the High 5s for Africa,” he emphasised.
