Greece explores ways to strengthen cooperation with Africa | African Development Bank

Greece is determined to strengthen its cooperation with Africa. With this in mind, an official delegation led by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias visited the headquarters of the African Development Bank Group to benefit from its expertise and knowledge of the continent.

The Minister, heading a delegation, expressed a desire to better understand the activities and operations of the Bank, as well as its functioning and intervention mechanisms.

Simon Mizrahi, acting vice president for technology and business services at the African Development Bank, welcomed the Greek delegation on behalf of the bank’s president. Mizrahi described the Bank Group, Africa’s leading multilateral development finance institution, as the ideal partner for closer cooperation with the continent. He emphasized that the bank is rated triple A by the major rating agencies, highlighting its expertise and knowledge base built on decades of proven experience and a network of leading partners. These include Agence Française de Développement, the World Bank and the European Union, he said. Member States thus have access to convincing data on development axes, projects and trends in Africa.

Gauthier Bourlard, Special Adviser to the President of the Bank, gave a presentation on the constituent entities of the African Development Bank Group. These include the African Development Fund, the concessional counter for low-income African countries. He explained the Bank’s membership process and governance structure, as well as the functioning of the Boards. Bourlard further elaborated on the Bank’s financial mechanism and resource mobilization to transform the African continent.

In addition to its knowledge of markets and investment opportunities in Africa, the Bank Group has significant leverage in mobilizing resources at preferential rates.

Minister Dendias also showed interest in the Bank’s efforts to tackle climate change. “Climate change is one of the bank’s top priorities,” said Simon Mizrahi, who detailed the bank’s climate finance investments and the climate finance mechanisms it has put in place, including those with partners.

Bourlard gave a presentation on the Bank’s flagship Desert to Power initiative, which aims to become the world’s largest photovoltaic energy production (10 GW capacity) and supply system, benefiting 250 million people in the Sahel region. He said the bank has rolled out several climate resilience and adaptation programs, including activities in partnership with the Global Center on Adaptation.

Security issues, drug trafficking, migration, resource governance…

Responding to a request from Minister Dendias for information on the Bank’s efforts to address Africa’s current challenges, Mizrahi explained that the core of her work is to change the lives of people in Africa through tangible opportunities and prospects to certain vulnerable categories. These include women and youth who may be attempting to migrate abroad or engage in illegal activities. In the area of ​​good governance, the Bank has consistently set up programs and projects to strengthen countries’ capacities in this area.

Dendias concluded his visit by thanking the Bank for the discussions and the quality of the exchanges.

The Greek delegation consisted of Ambassador Ioannis Tsaousis, Director of the diplomatic cabinet of Minister Nikos Dendias, Efthymios-Georges Costopoulos, the Greek Ambassador to Senegal and Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Sahel region, and Ioannis Ferentinos, First Adviser and Deputy spokesman for the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The African Development Bank delegation, led by Simon Mizrahi, consisted of Gauthier Bourlard, Catherine Baumont-Keita, Director of the Department of Board Affairs, Mouhamed Ba, Director – Special Initiatives in the Cabinet of Vice President Mizrahi, and Valerie Dabady, Division Manager or Mobilization of resources and partnerships.