Rwandese President Paul Kagame and three other Heads of State are expected to jet into Kenya during the week to attend the African Development Bank Annual Summit slated to run from today May 27 to Friday, May 31.
Kagame will be in the company of three other Heads of State including President Felix Tshisekedi of DR Congo, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe, and Ghanaian President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meeting will focus on structural reforms on funding to African countries.
Themed ‘Africa’s Transformation, African Development Bank Group, and Reform of the Global Financial Architecture’, the meeting will comprise the 59th Annual Assembly of the African Development Bank and the 50th meeting of the African Development Fund taking place in Nairobi, Kenya.
President Kagame is expected to address the delegates on the specified theme on the opening day of the Summit which is May 29.
Other notable figures expected to attend the summit include; Admassu Tadesse the President and Group Managing Director of the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Muhammad Al Jasser the President of Islamic Development Bank, Patrick Verkooijen the CEO of Global Center on Adaptation and Sidi Ould Tah the Director General of Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA).
Additionally, Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Development, U.S. Treasury will be part of the delegation.
In a statement, the Bank on May 6 stated that it would be instituting policy reforms geared at streamlining lending to African countries as advocated for by President William Ruto.
In a meeting with AfDB President Dr Akinwumi Adesina at State House, Nairobi on May 9, President William Ruto requested a substantial increase in funding to support the 37 African member countries.
The bank also revealed that President Ruto had requested the replenishment of the Ksh3.3 Trillion African Development Fund issued by the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the African countries
“I will continue to make a strong case for the 17th replenishment of the African Development Fund. Kenya has benefitted from resources made available to us by the Fund,” said President Ruto.
