On Tuesday, 23 July 2019 in Conakry, Guinean Head of State Alpha Condé and President of the African Development Bank Group Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina officially opened the new Country Office for Guinea.
"The opening of the country office is a crucial step in the cooperation between the Republic of Guinea and the African Development Bank," the Bank president said, noting that the Bank's new Guinean country office is one of the finest in Africa.
He said the office would be used to enhance the quality of the Bank's cooperation with Guinea and to promote stronger coordination with other development partners working in Guinea.
The operational decentralisation policy, one of President Adesina's major reforms, aims to bring the Bank's activities and services closer to its customers.
"When we are present on the ground, we are able to work better with governments, deploy better tools to support the private sector, take a more active part in policy dialogue, and we are able to hear the voices of civil society and the public. In short, having a presence on the ground, makes us much more nimble and effective," he added.
President Condé expressed appreciation for the Bank's strong support for Guinea and the opening of the new office. "The re-opening of an African Development Bank country office in Guinea, with expanded staffing, is a great step forward for Guinea and for its people. I want to thank President Adesina for his continuing support of our country on behalf of the Bank and for his sustaining vision of Africa. Africa needs a new type of Bank, and President Adesina is creating it through the High 5s and through its effective structural reorganisation."
The Guinean Head of State also cited the Bank's support for the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative: "This is now a flagship initiative for Africa, 27 of whose projects have been adopted. It's a very important initiative for Guinea"
Other bank projects in Guinea include support for the construction of the Fomi Dam, with the potential to produce 100 MW of hydropower and the irrigation of 100,000 hectares of land to meet the needs of Guinea and Mali.
Bank approvals for Guinea amount to approximately $1.7 billion, 40% of which $680 million has been approved in the last five years.
This includes the 75 km Coyah-Farmoreah road co-financed by the European Union at a cost of $89 million; the 225 kV electrical interconnection project between Guinea and Mali, co-financed with the European Union, the World Bank and the Islamic Development Bank at a cost of $418 million; and the first phase of the Guinea Alumina Corporation integrated project for the extraction of bauxite and the development of related infrastructure, including rail and port, with $100 million in African Development Bank funding.
The new office located in Cité des Nations signals the highest level of commitment between the West African state and the African Development Bank.
The Bank has operated in Guinea since 1974.
Contact:
Olivia Ndong Obiang, African Development Bank
