By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

Executive directors from the African Development Bank Group and the World Bank met in Abidjan on Thursday, March 3 to discuss a wide range of issues including the effectiveness of their work and ways of strengthening collaboration between the two institutions.

The Dean of the Executive Directors of the African Development Bank Group, Mmakgoshi Lekhethe, and eight other executive directors received their World Bank counterparts led by the Executive Director for Benin, Alphonse Kouagou. The seven-member World Bank delegation was on a field mission to Côte d’Ivoire and Niger.

The two groups exchanged views on broad strategic priorities and areas of common interest. This included board effectiveness, strategic partnership between the two institutions, and particularly among development partners, against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also discussed the dual role that executive directors play in ensuring due diligence while advocating for more concessional resources for Africa within the multilateral finance system through the African Development Fund and the International Development Association – the soft lending arms of the African Development Bank Group and World Bank, respectively.

They agreed that it was important to strike a balance between the financial sustainability of multilateral development banks vis-à-vis their role in contributing to the socio-economic development of their client countries. They also engaged on broad issues like food security, human capital, climate finance, energy including a just transition and fragility.