The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) is leading a call for greater Arab – Africa Financial cooperation for development through the formation of an Arab-Africa Financial Consortium (AAFC).
The consortium will be an alliance of Arab and African Development Financial Institutions with a common vision for strengthening economic, financial, and technical cooperation between Arab and African countries.
Established in 1974, BADEA will celebrate its 50th-anniversary celebrations under the theme: “Prosperity through Partnership: 50 Years of Arab-Africa Cooperation for development” at an event scheduled to take place in Accra on Sunday, 21 July 2024.
To commemorate its 50th anniversary of long-standing engagement in building bridges of investment and trade flows between the African and Arab regions, BADEA in partnership with the Presidency of Ghana and the African Union (AU) Commission will celebrate its 50th anniversary during the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting (MYCM) taking place in Accra.
The event, a leaders’ breakfast, will celebrate BADEA’s five decades in development finance and also act as the inaugural platform to explore the establishment and implementation mechanisms for the AAFC.
According to a statement issued in Accra, the session will also focus on leveraging BADEA’s pivotal role as a partnership bridge as the only Arab development institution that is dedicated exclusively to Sub-Saharan Africa, envisioning a future where enhanced collaboration drives further prosperity and unity between the two regions.
“In the Arab world, BADEA is a member of the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) – a consortium of 10 Arab Development Institutions that leverage their collective resources and expertise to maximize development impact across the world. Most recently in November 2023, the ACG pledged USD 50Bn in new investments towards Africa by 2030 demonstrating a strong commitment of the Arab partners towards the African region and its development priorities” the statement read.
It indicated that on the continent, BADEA is also an observer member in the Alliance of African Multilateral Financial Institutions (AAMFI) which embodies Africa’s collective resolve to shape its financial future, stressing that BADEA therefore sits at a strategic intersection between the developments interests of the 2 regions.
It stated that the establishment of the AAFC will significantly enhance economic development and cooperation in both the Arab and African regions and serve as an effective vehicle for the delivery of such ambitious targets through leveraging the collective financial strength of participating members, promoting sustainable development, and addressing common challenges affecting the two regions.
The establishment and operationalisation of the AAFC will also focus on key areas such as institutional frameworks, funding mechanisms, investment priorities, capacity building and regional integration.