Senior officials, some 60 in number, from the Beninese Ministry of Quality of Life and Transport, in charge of sustainable development, discussed the African Development Bank Group 2023 Country Focus Report's recommendations and their implementation at a dissemination workshop on 24 October in Cotonou.
During the report's official launch ceremony, on 3 October 2023, the Beninese Minister of Quality of Life and Sustainable Development, José Tonato, spoke of the need for a more in-depth discussion with all his senior managers.
During the workshop, Kevin Urama, the Bank Group's Chief Economist and Vice-President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management, praised the progress made by Benin. "Benin is already fully committed to the development of innovative green finance instruments: the recent issuance of sustainable development bonds targeting the Sustainable Development Goals in 2023 and the creation, ongoing as we speak, of the Green Bank of the Deposit and Consignment Fund of Benin. These actions are gradually paving the way for a substantial increase in the volume of private finance for climate and green growth in Benin," he said.
Mr Urama encouraged the Government of Benin to continue its work towards policy development to embed green taxation and formulate a new long-term strategy on climate action and green growth. He said these policies will need to be accompanied by a pipeline of priority projects and a results framework based on a rigorous evaluation of green financing opportunities across sectors.
"My wish is that we make judicious use of the recommendations contained in the Bank's Report to deepen Benin's approach to mobilizing private climate finance, in order to support implementation of the Government's Action Plan for the period 2021-2026," responded José Tonato.
The Minister asked for the support of the African Development Bank for the formulation of a new long-term climate strategy, as the current strategy comes to an end in 2025.
The head of the Bank's country office in Benin, Robert Masumbuko, closed the workshop by expressing "our institution's gratitude to the highest authorities of Benin for the interest shown in work to develop knowledge in relation to private financing for climate and green growth".
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