In a significant development for Nigeria’s economy, the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, expressed his admiration for the bold and sound policies put forth by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Adesina’s endorsement came during their meeting at the recently concluded Summit For a New Global Financing Pact in Paris, France.
The AfDB chief pledged strong support for President Tinubu’s economic vision, emphasizing the bank’s commitment to Nigeria’s progress.
Taking to his verified Twitter handle, @akin_adesina, Dr. Adesina said, “I had a great meeting with President Tinubu during the new global finance pact summit in Paris. I was impressed by his bold & sound policies for Nigeria’s economy. The African Development Bank will strongly support his vision for the Nigerian economy.”
Furthermore, Dr. Adesina reiterated the significance of multilateral development banks (MDBs) being granted the ability to leverage International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). By capitalizing on this opportunity, MDBs can mobilize substantial resources to combat climate change and expedite the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing nations.
During a panel session at the Summit For a New Global Financing Pact, Dr. Adesina proposed that MDBs should leverage an allocation of $200 billion, potentially transforming it into a trillion-dollar resource pool.
He emphasized, “The MDBs are leveraging machines. They can leverage the SDRs by three to four times. So that leverage is very important to have.”
The African Development Bank, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, has been at the forefront of advocating for the reallocation of SDRs from the International Monetary Fund to multilateral development banks.
This reallocation would enable the African Development Bank to provide increased financing to regional and national development banks across Africa as part of the Finance in Common initiative, thereby accelerating the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Dr. Adesina assured that the proposal being developed by the African Development Bank, in cooperation with the IMF, would complement the Fund’s ongoing efforts.
