African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina will visit Ghana on Wednesday, 11 May, as part of the Bank Group’s preparations for its 2022 Annual Meetings in Accra.
This year’s meetings, which will be in a hybrid format, will take place from 23 to 27 May at the Accra International Conference Center. They mark a return to in-person meetings following virtual gatherings over the last two years.
The theme of the African Development Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings is “Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa.” African leaders will discuss the nature of the support they need from global development partners, as well as the estimated cost of building resilience and a just energy transition for their economies.
The Bank Group chief will pay a courtesy call on the President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Akufo Addo. He will also meet with Finance Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta, the current Chair of the African Development Bank Group Board of Governors.
Adesina will be accompanied by the Bank’s Acting Chief Economist and Vice President for Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Kevin Urama; Secretary General Vincent Nmehielle; Director-General in the Office of the President Alex Mubiru; Executive Director representing The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Sudan, Kenyeh Barlay; and Ghana Country Manager Eyerusalem Fasika.
The Bank Group chief will visit the new Four-tier Road interchange financed by the African Development Bank as part of the multicomponent Accra Urban Transport Project. Completed in 2021, the Pokuase Interchange is the first of its kind in West Africa.
The structure and associated works of the Acca Urban Transport Project have helped reduce fatalities on the main Accra-Kumasi Highway. They have also eased mobility, and spurred trade within Ghana as well as with its neighbors. The African Development Bank Group provided $83.9 million for the project from the African Development Fund, its concessional financing window, with the Government of Ghana contributing $11 million.
The meetings are the Bank Group’s most important event of the year. They attract some 3,000 delegates. They bring together the Bank’s leadership and shareholders to take stock of the institution’s progress. They also provide a unique forum for representatives of governments, businesses, civil society, think tanks, academia, and the media, to discuss critical issues concerning Africa’s development.
