AfDB’s 57th annual meetings to kick off on Monday

The five-day meetings, which are scheduled to conclude on Friday, come amid challenging developments, as the world reels from the impacts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and its associated food basket shocks, rising food and energy prices, supply chain disruptions, and the still ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The bank also said that this year’s meetings will take into account Egypt’s hosting of the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, as it will highlight Africa’s need for increased investment and other types of financing to accelerate climate adaptation efforts.

Egypt in an AfDB founding member and its second-largest regional shareholder. 

Since 1974, the bank group has financed approximately 100 operations valued at $5.7 billion across the infrastructure, energy, and social sectors, mainly through extending loans to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Around 3,000 delegates and attendees are expected to participate in the meetings, chiefly to discuss key issues concerning the Africa’s development.