EQUATORIAL GUINEA –Equatorial Guinea will is set to host the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) next Annual Meetings in June 2019 following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.

The Annual Meetings are scheduled to take place between 11th to 14th June, 2019 in the country’s capital city, Malabo.

Mr. Bernardo Abaga Ndong, general coordinator of the National Technical Committee in charge of the Annual Meetings stated that the meetings are also set to contribute significantly to the country’s economy.

“The Government and people of Equatorial Guinea are ready and look forward to hosting the African Development Bank’s flagship event in 2019.

We are determined to make the Annual Meetings in our country a most resounding success that will definitely bolster our national prestige, because an event with over 3,000 participants is not a small affair,” Mr. Bernardo highlighted.

An aide-memoire on the country’s preparedness to host the event was signed on 27th February 2019 in the side-lines of regional consultative meetings between the Bank and its African shareholders.

Speaking at the signing, André Basse, the African Development Bank’s Chief of protocol, who signed on behalf of the Bank, commended the host country for its commitment to the success of the Annual Meetings, returning this year to African soil after being held in Korea and India respectively.

This year’s meeting will run under the theme ‘Regional integration’ as part of the Bank’s five strategic priorities, known as the High 5s.

These include: Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialise Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life of the people of Africa.

The Bank’s Annual Meetings represent a unique opportunity to discuss challenges and ways to advance the continent’s regional integration agenda.

According to the bank, the meeting expects about 3,000 – including finance ministers, governors of central banks, policy makers, civil society groups, heads of international organisations and business leaders from the Bank Group’s member states.

AfDB has been in the forefront in propelling sustainable development across the continent through financially supporting projects across all categories in the continent.

To ensure this, the bank has also additionally called on African government’s regional economic communities to intensify efforts aimed at facilitating the free movement of goods, services, people and trade across borders.

This will help the continent leverage on the 1 billion population coupled with a GDP of more than US$3.4 trillion which presents a huge opportunities for producers on the continent.