New Telegraph

AfDB, others pledge to boost economies post-COVID-19

Heads of four Regional Development Banks (RDBs)- African Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)- have reaffirmed their commitment to working together to boost their regions’ economies in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID- 19) pandemic. They made the pledge at a virtual meeting, which was hosted by African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Akinwumi Adesina, the outgoing chair of the group.

Other RDB Heads at the meeting were, Odile Renaud-Basso, new President of the EBRD, Masatsugu Asakwa, President of the ADB and Mauricio Claver Carone, the new President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). According to a press release issued by the AfDB, the RDB heads discussed key areas for mutual cooperation and to build back their regions’ economies post COVID-19. These included debt, climate resilience financing, the importance of resilient infrastructure, health infrastructure and access to and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

To mitigate the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic and to assist member countries, Adesina said that RDBs had so far collectively disbursed about $230 billion dollars, but insisted they needed to work even more closely together, as the world experienced a second wave of the virus, and given the looming debt crisis. Adesina described the conversation as an opportunity to share lessons in particular from the current pandemic, climate, on what we are doing, the work environment and attracting investments for the private sector.

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