BUUMBA CHIMBULUwrites
@SunZambian
THE 2019 annual meetings for the African Development Bank (AfDB) which Zambia hosted in 2016 will this time round take place in June in Equatorial Guinea.
This follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
The signing took place on the side-lines of regional consultative meetings between the AfDB and its African shareholders, held in Abidjan from 25th February to 1st March, 2019.
The annual meetings will take place from 11th to 14th June, in that country’s capital city, Malabo.
AfDB indicated in a statement that the theme of the meetings this year was ‘Regional integration.’
The bank’s annual meetings represent a unique opportunity to discuss challenges and ways to advance the continent’s regional integration agenda.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, National Technical Committee in charge of the Annual Meetings general coordinator Bernardo Ndong said the Government and people of Equatorial Guinea were ready and looked forward to hosting the Bank’s flagship event in 2019.
Over 3,000 participants are expected in Malabo, 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.
Mr Ndong said “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.”
And the Bank’s Chief of protocol André Basse, 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.
