AfDB President Addresses Diplomats - "We Need a Durable Solution to the Crisis"

20 January 2009
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)
press release

In his New Year address to the ambassadors of AfDB member countries accredited to Tunis as well as to representatives of international organizations, on Tuesday, January 20 in Tunis, Bank Group President, Donald Kaberuka, said "Africa needs a durable solution to the crisis". "We must ensure that the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are met, as well as the objectives of Copenhagen on climate change and the declarations of Paris, Accra and Doha, for development aid," he added.

The President evoked the recent adoption of the 2008-2012 Medium-Term Strategy by the AfDB, which, "in this time of uncertainty" "will be the institution's barometer for the next five years". Within this framework, he continued, the AfDB puts its emphasis on the levers of growth, in particular, national and regional infrastructures, good governance, higher education and the private sector. "We intend to do better and to make optimal use of resources, while reinforcing cooperation and partnership with the donor community as well as with development partners", he stressed. "By setting these priorities, we will remain focused on the engines of growth in order to help African countries reach the MDGs. To plan is to choose, and we have chosen our priorities", he affirmed.

The President indicated that the Bank is not affected by the international financial crisis because of its sound risk management approach.

For President Kaberuka, the Bank maintains its ambitions for Africa. Thus, it will do "more and better". This will require an increase in its resources, as the members of the Committee of the African Finance Ministers and Governors of the Central Banks noted last week in Cape Town.

For his part, Mr. Abdelhafidh Harguem, Secretary of State in the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the Maghrebian, Arab and African Businesses, expressed his delight for the cooperation between the Bank and the region, and underscored the Bank's exemplary contribution to the development efforts in his country.

He stressed the fact that the crisis encourages the African countries to coordinate their action. The Secretary of State also congratulated President Kaberuka, for his leadership. Describing the Bank as "one of the independent sources of financing in Africa", he said his country is counting on the AfDB's continued support.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).

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