Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, has commended outgoing President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, for his efforts to strengthen the financial institution’s role and provide crucial funding to advance development goals across Africa.

He made the commendation during a meeting in Cairo, where El-Sisi wished Adesina success in his future endeavours. Adesina is the eighth elected AfDB president. He was first elected to the position in May 2015 by the bank’s Board of Governors at its yearly meetings in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

During the parley, President El-Sisi also reaffirmed to Adesina, Egypt’s ongoing support for the AfDB and commitment to cooperating with his successor.
Adesina, on the other hand, expressed his gratitude for Egypt’s support and its pivotal role in enhancing the bank’s development efforts across Africa in recent years.

Moreover, both parties discussed ways to enhance the North African nation’s relations with the bank, underscoring the importance of boosting cooperation in various fields, particularly new and renewable energy and infrastructure.

They also stressed the need to strengthen the private sector’s role in development, job creation, ensuring food and water security, improving energy efficiency, developing manufacturing capabilities, and advancing digital transformation.

Furthermore, El-Sisi and Adesina highlighted the necessity of AfDB’s continuous support for Egypt’s efforts to achieve growth, development, and economic reform.

The meeting also discussed implementing various projects under the national platform for the Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) programme. Launched in July 2022, NWFE is a national scheme meant to implement the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), a document Egypt recently submitted, detailing its commitments to emission targets by 2030.