Several African presidents, ministers of finance, and other leaders are gathering in Nairobi, Kenya, for the African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meeting, slated for May 27–31, 2024, that focuses on structural reforms to drive socioeconomic transformation on the continent.
The meeting will be held under the ‘Africa’s Transformation, African Development Bank Group, and Reform of the Global Financial Architecture’, and will comprise the 59th Annual Assembly of the African Development Bank and the 50th meeting of the African Development Fund taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
The presidents expected to join the host, Willian Ruto, for the event are Paul Kagame-Rwanda, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé-Togo, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa-Zimbabwe, Mohamed Younis al-Menfi-Libya, Joseph Nyuma Boakai-Libya, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi-Mozambique, Evariste Ndayishimiye-Burundi, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani-Mauritania, Denis Sassou Nguesso-Congo, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-Ghana, Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister Ethiopia, Felix Tshisekedi-DR Congo, and Samia Suluhu Hassan-Tanzania
Other dignitaries include finance ministers from different countries, Admassu Tadesse, President and Group Managing Director of the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Muhammad Al Jasser, President of the Islamic Development Bank, Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, Sidi Ould Tah, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), and Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development, U.S. Treasury, among others.
The discussion will center on the slow pace of transformation in Africa despite sustained economic growth over the past two decades.
While 10 of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in Africa and the continent’s real GDP increased annually by 4.3 percent over the past two decades compared to the world’s average of 2.9 percent, available data indicate that it is off track on almost all Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets by 2030.
It is against this backdrop that the conference seeks to identify ways of accelerating Africa’s economic transformation and redefining the current global financial architecture to avail the needed resources.
The AfDB will also be launching its flagship African Economic Outlook 2024, which focuses on driving Africa’s transformation and the reform of the global financial architecture.
