By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
The African Development Bank (AfDB), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), have signed an agreement to strengthen their collaboration on sustainable economic development in Africa.
The Memorandum of Understanding, which builds on an earlier one reached in 2018, is designed to boost infrastructure development and economic opportunities across the African continent.
AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, signed for his bank, while President/Chair, Board of Directors, Jin Liqun, endorsed for AIIB, at the signing on Saturday, which took place on the sidelines of a meeting of Heads of Multilateral Development Banks held in Paris, France.
The agreement outlines continued collaboration from both parties in six priority areas, which aligns with the AfDB Group’s Ten-Year Strategy 2024–2033 as well as AIIB’s Corporate Strategy and its Strategy on Financing Operations in Non-Regional Members.
The area covered under the terms include:
- Green infrastructure
- Industrialization
- Private capital mobilization including Public – Private Partnerships
- Cross-border-connectivity
- Digitalization; and
- Policy-based financing
The MoU will also promote among others, co-financing, co-guaranteeing, and other forms of joint participation in financial assistance for development projects primarily in sustainable infrastructure, according to AfDB’s statement.
AfDB and AIIB’s existing cooperation in this area, includes providing guarantees to support the issuance of Egypt’s first Sustainable Panda Bond in 2023, valued at RMB 3.5 billion.
The MoU will also promote among others, co-financing, co-guaranteeing, and other forms of joint participation in financial assistance for development projects primarily in sustainable infrastructure.
This historic issuance—backed by guarantees from both AfDB and AIIB—marked the first African sovereign bond placed in the Chinese interbank bond market.
The guarantees provided by the two triple-A-rated multilateral banks were instrumental in de-risking the transaction, enabling Egypt to secure competitive terms and attract investor confidence.
Dr. Adesina was quoted as saying: “This partnership continues to be an effective pathway to provide economic development for our member countries, especially in infrastructure.
“By reaffirming today, we are boosting energy access by accelerating Mission 300 which is targeting to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030.”
His counterpart, Mr. Liqun remarked: “The renewal of our partnership with the African Development Bank reflects AIIB’s commitment to supporting sustainable development beyond Asia.
“Through this collaboration, we can leverage our combined expertise to deliver transformative projects that will benefit millions across the continent and create prosperity through quality infrastructure investment.”
