Africa’s biggest development lender has begun forging new financial bridges as Western donors pull back from long-standing support. The African Development Bank held its first formal meeting with Arab development finance institutions in Abidjan, seeking fresh capital for the continent’s ambitions.
The gathering marked a symbolic turning point, as Africa looks east and south for partners to fill widening development gaps. AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah said closer ties with the Arab Coordination Group were vital to restoring momentum in long-term development finance.
He described the initiative as a strategic partnership designed to mobilise patient capital for industrialisation, infrastructure and large-scale job creation. The institutions signed a declaration outlining co-financing priorities and a new framework for joint planning across regions.
Rami Ahmad of the OPEC Fund said a coordination platform would replace isolated projects with sustained, big-ticket regional investments. Arab financial institutions have already channelled billions into African infrastructure, sanitation and agriculture over recent decades.
Tah warned that external shocks had deepened Africa’s financing shortfall, now estimated at $402 billion each year. He said closing that gap was essential to building ports, farms and industries that could anchor Africa’s economic future.