The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group recently hosted the first trilateral consultative meeting with the European Commission (EC) and the World Bank in order to enhance synergies and greater collaboration in their operations on the continent.

The three institutions have jointly identified three thematic areas as priorities - Results Framework; Budget Support and Public Finance Management; and Infrastructure. Coordinated by the Bank Group's Partnerships and Cooperation Unit, the meeting launched a trilateral cooperation process by identifying joint actions and establishing a follow-up and monitoring mechanism which would build on existing parallel bilateral partnerships, including the EC-World Bank "Limelette" process (since April 2003) and the EC-AfDB "Tunis process" (since September 2007).

The meeting reviewed efforts and outcomes to date, and identified good practices and challenges in order to enable more results-oriented future tripartite partnership. Each institution was represented by the management and technical staff from both the headquarters and field offices in Mali, Rwanda, Mozambique and Ghana. Discussions in all sections were initiated by joint kick-off presentations from headquarters and the field, capturing current progress of joint activities.

The meeting was co-chaired by Bank Group Vice-President, Joseph Eichenberger; European Commission Director-General for Development Cooperation, Bernard Petit; and World Bank Director for Operations and Strategies, Hart Schafer. The outcomes of the meeting will inform the high-level tripartite partnerships meeting to be held later this year.