U.S. Trade and Development Agency and African Development Bank Expand Procurement Partnerships in Africa

2 July 2018
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African Development Bank (Abidjan)

The African Development Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to partner under USTDA's Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value. The initiative was launched in 2013 to help public procurement officials establish policies and practices that integrate lifecycle cost analyses and best-value determination fairly and transparently.

Gilbert Kaplan, US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, led an entourage that included representatives from US-based Fortune 100 corporations, US private sector interests in Africa, and US government agencies including the Commerce Department, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, USAID and USTDA.

The Bank and USTDA are committed to promoting best practices in public procurement and capacity building across Africa by sharing information, joint planning, and leveraging resources to support training for procurement officials. The MOU aims to provide the tools and knowledge needed to make sound procurement decisions for high quality, sustainable infrastructure. The cooperation will include workshops, trainings, and development programs.

Charles Boamah, African Development Bank Senior Vice President said, "Efficient public procurement systems are critical for public service delivery. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Bank and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency(USTDA) will enable Regional Member Countries (RMCs) improve their procurement and public service delivery capabilities, resulting in significant cost savings to be used to improve the quality of life for ordinary citizens.

Boamah led a roundtable on how U.S. companies can better engage with the Bank on projects, market intelligence, and in the new Africa Investment Forum.

USTDA Director of Congressional and Public Affairs, Thomas R. Hardy noted, "With two GPI partners in Africa, we are pleased to be expanding our procurement cooperation with the African Development Bank. We appreciate the opportunity to support the continent's efforts to achieve better procurement outcomes, while leveling the playing field for U.S. companies to compete for tenders in Africa."

Contacts

African Development Bank: Chawki Chahed, c.chahed@afdb.org; Tel: +225 20 26 27 02

USTDA : Allison Getty-Klein, aklein@ustda.gov; Tel: +1-703-875-4357

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