Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — The African Development Bank's Knowledge Management and Economic Governance Complex is hosting on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, the Eminent Speaker Series Session with Professor E. Sheshinski on the topic "Optimizing Royalties on Mining - Reforming Public Finance".

Professor Eytan Sheshinski from Hebrew University is one of the world's top experts on the economics of natural resources. He is a distinguished economist and scholar, with extensive track record both as a researcher and policy-maker. His research work and policy analysis span a wide range of areas across the economic governance spectrum, including taxation, privatization, regulatory regimes for infrastructures and growth policies. Recently he presided over the Sheshinski Commission, credited with developing a new taxation regime for the oil and gas sector in Israel, known as "the Sheshinski Law".

This session, taking place at the Bank's headquarters in Abidjan, will serve to discuss macroeconomic policy design and management as well as optimization of natural resource rents for transformative and inclusive growth.

As the focal department for knowledge and capacity building in the Bank, the African Development Institute recognizes its pivotal role in leading the knowledge agenda and to create the required environment for knowledge dissemination and capacity development. To this end, the Institute organizes a series of Eminent Speaker Seminars to help harvest both tacit and explicit knowledge of former Bank staff and external partners. Through the seminars, the Bank gains first-hand information from renowned personalities, which contributes to enriching the intellectual tools needed to address development challenges of the Bank's regional member countries.