An African Development Bank (AfDB) mission led by Vice President Secretary General Cecilia Akintomide attended the 13th International Financial Institutions (IFIs) Corporate Secretariat Annual Meetings in London from 21 to 23 October, 2013 .

The meeting was hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and attended by the Corporate Secretaries of Asian Development Bank, Black Sea Trade and Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, European Investment Bank , European Stability Mechanism, Inter-American Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank.

The annual event is meant for the Secretary Generals to take stock of the current development in each of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), discuss common challenges in their work and share best practices in board, shareholders and institutional matters. The two- day meeting discussed various issues including, shareholders representation in the board, admission of new members, performance scorecards for Secretary General Offices, disclosure of non-routine documents and information to the board, corporate secretariat staff mobility among the participating MDBs and training of secretariat staff.

The mission had fruitful exchanges and practical actions were agreed upon. These include setting up a common web platform of IFIs corporate secretaries to facilitate knowledge and best practices sharing, as well as provide more visibility to the forum. The AfDB proposed to lead on the design and development of the common web site.

The AfDB's mission included Catherine Baumont-Keita, Division Manager and Mike Salawou, assistant to the Vice President Secretary General. The Caribbean Development Bank offered to host the 14th Annual Meetings in Barbados.