The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group says it has obtained approval from its Board of Governors to develop a Security Index Investment Bond to address insecurity in Africa.
Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the President of the AfDB Group, said this at a news conference to wrap up the 2022 Annual Meetings of the Bank in Accra, Ghana.
Adesina said security was an issue in the continent, noting that development thrived in a secured continent.
He said that the meetings discussed the support for the private sector which he said the Bank was actively involved in with the private sector equity investments.
”Development can only happen when we have security.
”Security is now part of our thinking in the AfDB because we will support the countries to address security.
”There must be a link between security, investment, growth and development,” he said.
He said the Bank’s meetings also focused on the debt management for Africa.
“We must have sustainable, transparent debt in Africa by ensuring that the private and commercial debt of Africa is fair.
”AfDB should do more on agriculture.
”In the meetings, we talked of the African Development Fund (ADF).
”As you know, the ADF is 50, nine out of 10 most vulnerable countries of climate change are in Africa, 100 per cent of them are ADF countries.
”There was a very strong support for the ADF to use the equities that it has accumulated to be able to go to the global capital markets to generate money.
”We believe that if it goes to the market, we can raise 33 billion dollars for the countries,” Adesina said.
The President noted that the Bank got strong support to develop Africa Financial Stability Mechanism to protect the continent from economic shocks.
He said the Bank would also focus on debt management adding that the continent must have transparent, sustainable debts.
Adesina said the Bank would work with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the G-20 common framework to ensure that private and commercial debts of Africa were well dealt with.
”I presented to the Board of Governors what my visions are in the next 10 years and the plan was unanimously endorsed,” Adesina said.
Egypt will host the next Annual Meetings of the Bank from May 22 to 26, 2023.
Mr Tarel Amer, the Governor, Central Bank of Arab Republic of Egypt, was appointed the new Chairperson of the AfDB’s Board of Governors.
