Ghana is to host the 2021 African Development Bank meetings which should be held possibly in May 2021.

This was officially communicated members on the final day of the Virtual Annual meetings in the Ivory Coast which ended on Thursday, 27, August 2020.

JoyBusiness understands that the meeting will be hosted under a planned rotation agreement.

A source close to the African Development Bank said as of 4 years ago they knew that Ghana was going to be the host of the Annual Meetings.

What is the African Development Bank Annual Meetings?

The annual meetings bring together the 81 member countries to deliberate of issues affecting the continent and how to promote economic development. 

The African Development Bank is Africa’s premier development finance institution, comprising 54 regional and 27 non-regional member countries. 

It also brings together all the finance ministers and Central Bank from these countries as the development partners and the external members of the African Development Bank.

Disclosing the news to members at the virtual meeting from Ivory Coast, President of the Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina noted that he is full of excitement about Ghana hosting the meeting and he is looking forward to a great meeting.

Briefing the members after the announcement, Finance Ken Ofori Atta the bank for the move and promised that the country will live up to expectation.  For the first time in history that the Bank is holding its virtually to comply with the COVID-19  social distancing guidelines.

During the virtual meeting, President Akinwumi Adesina outlined the bank's success stories. He also talked about the bank’s efforts to ensure that African countries were cushioned again the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta Chairs African Development Bank

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta has been elected that the Chairman of the Board  of Governors of the African Development at the end of this year’s Annual Meetings.

Ken Ofori-Atta takes over from the Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister for Planning and Development, Nialé Kaba. The Finance Minister during his acceptance speech took the opportunity to thank the predecessor in guiding activities at the bank during the COVID-19 period.  

Mr. Ofori-Atta also commended the unanimity displayed by the Governors during the meetings and their support for Africa’s future, which will require collective and strenuous efforts to help it build back from the loss inflicted by the pandemic.

President of the African Development Bank re-elected to serve the next five years

Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina has been re-elected to serve a second five-year term as President of the African Development Bank Group on Thursday, August 27, 2020, by the Board of Governors of the Bank.

A globally renowned development economist and a World Food Prize Laureate and Sunhak Peace Prize Laureate, Dr. Adesina has distinguished himself in driving a bold agenda to reform the Bank and accelerate Africa’s development. He was first elected as President of the Bank on May 28, 2015.

As newly re-elected President, Dr Adesina, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, will begin his new term on September 1, 2020.

The election result, which gave him a hundred percent of votes of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank, was announced by the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Bank, Mrs. Niale Kaba, Minister of National Planning of Côte d’Ivoire.

The election took place on the final day of the 2020 Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank Group, which was held virtually for the first time in the Bank’s history.

Adesina's first term focused on the bold new agenda for the Bank Group based on five development priorities known as the High 5s: Light up and Power Africa; Feed Africa; Industrialize Africa; Integrate Africa; and Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.