The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to host the bank's annual meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh from 22 till 26 May in 2023. The agreement was signed on behalf of Egypt by Hassan Abdalla — Acting Governor of the CBE — and Vincent O. Nmehielle — Secretary-General of the AfDB Group — in the presence of Ahmed Zayed — the AfDB's Executive Director for Egypt and Djibouti and the Dean of the AfDB Group's Board of Directors. "Egypt's hosting of the AfDB Group's annual meetings comes within the Egyptian strategic direction to promote African integration and to provide the needed accessible funds to support African economies, particularly with the current global external challenges facing the continent and the whole world, which highlights the importance of the leading role played by the AfDB Group as the main financing institution concerned with the development of the African continent," said Abdalla. For his part, Nmehielle said: "Egypt possesses high quality standards in meeting the requirements for hosting the annual meetings of the Group." "As we look forward to the annual meetings in May next year, let us continue to work together for the success of the 2023 annual meetings. Our sheer commitment and ownership of this initiative will be the driving force behind the success of this event. Similarly, we would be able to realise our mission to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in Africa and thereby improve the lives of all Africans." Egypt is one of the top three shareholders in the AfDB's capital across its 81-member states. Egypt is also one of only three African countries that contribute to the African Development Fund, which aims to develop low-income African countries. The volume of the cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the AfDB since 1974 is about $7bn, contributing to the financing of several important development projects in Egypt as well as continental connectivity projects. Meanwhile, the volume of the ongoing cooperation portfolio has reached nearly $1.37bn, which is financing 25 projects in the public and private sectors across various fields, including energy, transportation, agriculture, irrigation, water and sanitation, and entrepreneurship.
