President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, attended the official opening of the Assembly of the Africa Union which started on 30 January to discuss the theme, "Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth"
The 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, which started on the 30 January in Addis Ababa, was opned wit the election of President Alpha Condé of Guinea as the new Chairperson of the African Union and the launch of the theme "Harnessing the Demographic Dividend through Investments in the Youth". Condé succeeds President Idriss Deby of Chad in the role. The Heads of State and Government also announced the election of Chad's Foreign Minister, Moussa Faki Mahamat, as incoming Chairperson of the African Union Commission, replacing Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma of South Africa.
During the African Union Summit, Principals of the African Union Commission, Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Development Bank Joint Secretariat, Dlamini-Zuma, Abdalla Hamdok and Akinwumi Adesina, held their annual meeting at which they agreed on key strategic areas of cooperation to accelerate Africa's development agenda within the framework of Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals embedded in Agenda 2030, and AfDB's priority areas of intervention - the High 5s (Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa, and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa).
The heads of the three institutions emphasised the complementarity between the global and continental Agendas and the importance of ensuring their effective implementation in Africa through the High 5s, which would enable African countries to achieve concrete development results.
The AUC/ECA/AfDB leaders stressed the importance of joint planning among and pledged to continue to put their respective comparative advantages at the service of the continent.
"The African Development Bank stands fully ready to work with African leaders to achieve these development goals," Adesina said.
The African Development Bank President and his delegation have been scaling up the institution's partnerships with African Heads of State, Governments, development partners and the private sector, among others, and putting the Bank's finance and expertise at work to support the Africa's development since their arrival at the Africa Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
