The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) have decided to join forces in their bid to deal with climate change. To concretize their ambition, the two entities on Thursday, May 22 in Kigali, signed a 5 million euro grant agreement. Climate change is also one of the strategic issues raised during the Annual Meetings, on the theme: "The next 50 years, the Africa we want".

Aly Abou-Sabaa, AfDB's Sector Operations Vice-President in charge of Governance, Agriculture and Human Development, signed the agreement on behalf of the Bank and ClimDev Africa partners and the Economic Commission for Africa and noted that the projects to be funded would have a positive impact on the lives of beneficiaries. He expressed gratitude to the Nordic people, underscoring the vivid significance for Africans. "This demonstrates your strong partnership with Africa," he said.

NDF Managing Director Pasi Hellman described the protocol signing as positive move in its relations with the AfDB. "I am glad we have established co-financing and signed this accord," Hellman said.

NDF is the joint development finance institution of the Nordic countries - Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It provides financing for climate change interventions in low-income countries.