AfDB, Caribbean Development Bank Sign New Strategic Partnership Deal

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further strengthened their collaboration.

The MoU formalizes the platform for the two multilateral development institutions to join forces to promote trade between Africa and the Caribbean.
The new strategic partnership agreement will also enable both regions to work together on the sustainable development of micro, small and medium sized enterprises.

The heads of the two development finance institutions, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina (AfDB) and Dr. Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon (CDB), agreed that the MoU will play a catalytic role in making their regional economies more resilient, especially for the most vulnerable.
Collaboration by the financing agencies is expected to promote the development of and access to innovative financing instruments to encourage the flow of funds into the two regions.

At the signing ceremony in Providenciales, Dr. Adesina and Dr. Leon signed the MoU on behalf of their institutions. Both banks will work closely across various areas. They will collaborate on economic diversification initiatives in their respective regions, with an emphasis on deploying technological and digital transformation solutions in commerce, trade, public services, and financial intermediation and inclusion.

The AfDB president said: “Our challenges and the solutions that we must pursue to address them are similar. Together, we are catalyzing the development of our respective regions, making a difference in the lives of our people, ensuring that impact is strong and lasting, and shaping the global narrative about our respective regions and institutions”.

Similarly, Dr. Leon noted that deepening partnerships and knowledge sharing are critical for both institutions to realize the transformative development of their respective regions as they envision.

“This agreement will not only strengthen our relationship with the African continent but also fuel the innovative path we are pursuing in areas of mutual interest beneficial to all”, he added.
Increased cooperation will entail the two regions, which share deep historical and cultural ties —working closely through their multilateral development banks, particularly in agriculture, creating linkages for the AfDB to help train and provide capacity for the younger generation in agricultural development.

“We must encourage our young people to realize that agriculture is not simply about subsistence farming. It is a business, and we should be turning out more and more of what I like to call ‘agripreneurs’,” the AfDB chief stressed.

To facilitate a strategic cross-fertilization of transatlantic investments, the Bank head proposed building on the existing Africa Investment Forum, a platform it set up in 2018, to establish an Africa and Caribbean Investment Forum.

The AfDB president had earlier delivered the prestigious 22nd William G. Demas Memorial Lecture at the CDB’s 52nd Annual Meeting.

The Bank’s 52nd Annual Meeting under the theme, “Measure Better to Target Better”, resonates with the two regional development banks, as both institutions place a high premium on measuring efficacy to better target the needs of their regional member countries.

The William G. Demas Memorial Lecture, delivered to a packed audience, was an ideal platform for sharing mutual experiences and tracing pathways for a much closer partnership between Africa and the Caribbean.

Dr. Adesina’s lecture entitled “Development in a Context of Global Challenges: experiences and lessons from the African Development Bank”, highlighted shared lessons from the AfDB’s experience dealing with seven global challenges, namely the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, renewable energy and energy transition, food security and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, infrastructure, debt and resource mobilization, and inclusive growth for women.

He also met with Turks and Caicos Premier Honorable Charles Washington Misick and key members of his government and they discussed areas of mutual collaboration.

He equally spoke with members of the Turks and Caicos’ private sector and urged them to put a high premium on agriculture as a business with a profitable bottom line and as a vehicle of immense benefit to the economy and quality of life of the people of Turks and Caicos.