President Paul Kagame is set to participate in the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meeting, scheduled from May 27 to 31, aimed at discussing structural reforms to propel socioeconomic advancement across the continent.
Themed ‘Africa’s Transformation, African Development Bank Group, and Reform of the Global Financial Architecture’, the event will encompass the 59th Annual Assembly of the African Development Bank and the 50th meeting of the African Development Fund, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
The conference will assemble key officials from bilateral and multilateral development agencies, distinguished academics, and representatives from non-governmental organizations, civil society, and the private sector.
President Kagame is slated to engage in a presidential dialogue on the theme on May 29.
Among other African leaders expected to attend are President Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, and President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo.
Dignitaries such as finance ministers from various countries, Admassu Tadesse, President and Group Managing Director of the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Muhammad Al Jasser, President of the Islamic Development Bank, Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, Sidi Ould Tah, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development at the U.S. Treasury, are also expected to participate.
Discussions will center on the necessity of restructuring the global financial architecture as a catalyst for structural transformation, as well as the Bank Group’s contribution to Africa’s socioeconomic evolution over its 60-year history.
While Africa boasts 10 of the world’s fastest-growing economies and has seen its real GDP rise by 4.3 percent annually over the past two decades, compared to the global average of 2.9 percent, available data indicate it is falling short on nearly all SDG targets for 2030.
Experts estimate the cost of achieving the SDGs in Africa by 2030 at around US$1.3 trillion annually, equivalent to 42 percent of the continent’s US$3.1 trillion GDP in 2023.
The conference aims to identify strategies for expediting Africa’s economic transformation and reimagining the current global financial architecture to provide the necessary resources.
Additionally, the AfDB will unveil its flagship African Economic Outlook 2024, focusing on driving Africa’s transformation and reforming the global financial architecture.
The continental bank collaborates with African governments on numerous projects in infrastructure, healthcare, and other sectors.
As of 2023, the bank’s portfolio in Rwanda comprises 26 projects with a total investment of $1.5 billion.
