The board of African Development Bank (AfDB) has unanimously agreed on Egypt's request to host the bank's annual meetings on May 22-26, 2023 in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Sharm El Sheikh. The step reflects the depth of relations between Egypt and the AfDB, and the international commendation for the country's unprecedented achievements accomplished during the past few years, particularly with regards to political stability, economic growth, and infrastructure development, Egyptian central bank governor Tarek Amer said in a statement. Egyptian Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer (Photo Credit: Reuters) Amer, who is also Governor of Egypt at the AfDB, made the remarks during the bank's fifty-sixth meeting held virtually. Egypt is one of the AfDB's founding states in the 1960s. Since then, Egypt formed robust strategic partnership with the bank, built on the basis of joint cooperation to achieve the country's sustainable development strategic goals. This is in addition to enhancing and deepening the internal mutual African cooperation, while providing the necessary funds to finance the continent's development agenda, backed by the strong Egyptian political leadership that supports this mandate, and through the utilisation of stellar Egyptian expertise in all fields, Amer added. Egypt has unprecedently succeeded in meeting and complying with all the AfDB's required specifications and standards to host the annual meetings, said Ahmed Zayed – Egypt and Djibouti's representative in the AfDB's board of directors. Ahmed Zayed – Egypt and Djibouti's representative in the African Development Bank's (AfDB) board of directors. "This is considered a testimony to Egypt's fruitful efforts in developing the domestic infrastructure, while achieving political and economic stability, which has always been recognised by the Bank's Board of Directors in its meetings, calling Egypt to convey its valuable experience to other African countries." Zayed noted. He also added that Egypt's success to host the AfDB's Board of Governors Consultative Committee meetings held in Sharm El Sheikh on September 18, 2019, under the auspices of Tarek Amer, had increased the likelihood of approving its request to host the bank's annual meetings in 2023. During the Board of Governors Consultative Committee 2019 meetings – led by Amer – the AfDB Governors successfully concluded the negotiations to increase the bank's capital base for the seventh time by 125 percent from $93 billion to $205 billion. Egypt is Africa's second biggest shareholder in the AfDB's capital, and the third on the level of all 81 member states. It is also one of only three African countries, that contributes to the African Development fund, which aims at the development of low-income African countries. The aggregate size of the cooperation portfolio between Egypt and AfDB – since the inception of bilateral developmental cooperation in 1974 – has reached circa $6.4 billion, and has supported funding a number of major developmental projects in Egypt, in addition to continental connectivity projects. With regard to the current portfolio, total funds have averaged $1 billion, utilised in financing 22 projects in both the private and public sectors, and operating in a number of fields and industries, including; energy, transportation, agriculture, water and irrigation, sewage, and entrepreneurship.
