Tunis, Tunisia — A French parliamentary mission, led by Member of Parliament, Jean-Paul Bacquet, was received on Thursday, April 15, 2010, in Tunis by African Development Bank Group officials where it held a series of discussions.

The mission sought to identify how to better coordinate bilateral and multilateral aid, including that delivered by the Bank Group. The delegation also sought to know how to enhance their geographic and sectoral complementarity. Discussions during their meetings also focused on strategic partnerships between the Bank Group and France in priority cooperation areas.

The French parliamentarians also met with Bank Group president, Donald Kaberuka, with whom they discussed issues relating to cooperation with their country. In this regard, Bank Group officials expressed satisfaction with the leading role France was playing in the provision of official development assistance, especially to Third World countries.

In this regard, the AfDB and the Agence Française de développement (AFD) signed a strategic partnership in 2007 which resulted in a synergy in operations in sectors such as infrastructure development (water and sanitation, transport and energy), private sector development, institutional capacity building, good governance and sustainable natural resources management.

The parliamentarians also held a working session with Vice President, Thierry de Longuemar, and other senior officials. The French delegation also included Nicole Ameline, Jean-Paul Dupré, Jean-Luc Reitzer and Alain Delmas. The visit was coordinated by the AfDB executive director for France, Emmanuel Carrère, and the AfDB President's special adviser, Youssouf Ouédraogo.