The curtain has fallen on the 60th anniversary celebrations of the African Development Bank (AfDB). At the heart of the event was a review of the bank’s track record in financing projects across the continent. A number of sectors were discussed at the meeting, which brought together executives from the African financial institution. These included the industrialization of the continent and the improvement of living conditions for African populations. To date, the bank has carried out 6,000 operations involving some 18 billion US dollars in Central Africa since 1972. These investments testify to the institution’s ambitious vision for Africa.
The role of the bank is to accelerate the development of our countries and, above all, to lift our people out of poverty. We can’t do that without strengthening our economies. Resilient economies, inclusive economies and life-transforming economies. The investments we’ve been making for the past 60 years are investments that touch the simple lives of our people. It’s true that when we talk about the African Development Bank, we see its great roads, its great dams, its great agricultural estates, we see the private sectors we’ve supported. But, at the end of the day, what does this do for the good lady in the village ? For the young people who have no access to water or electricity. Did we reach these people ? We are proud, 60 years later, to say that we have raised the standard of living of our populations. Life expectancy has increased on the continent. The quality of life has improved on the continent,
argued Serge N’Guessan, Managing Director of the AfDB Central Africa Region.The celebration of the AfDB’s 60th anniversary was an opportunity to revisit the institution’s achievements in Cameroon. In the country, the bank has supported agricultural research through numerous loans to the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (Irad) and the construction of corridors linking Paul Biya’s country to those of the sub-region. The AfDB’s objectives are in line with those set out in Cameroon’s National Development Strategy 2030 (SND30).
Achieving these objectives depends on the mobilization of internal resources and the contribution of our technical and financial partners.By happy coincidence, the celebration of this anniversary gives us the opportunity to salute and congratulate ourselves on the results and achievements of this rich and fruitful partnership, the fruit of commitment to the implementation of the various operations that have benefited from the financial support of the African Development Bank,
declared Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development.
