Ethiopian President Sahle-work Zewde met with African Development Bank President Akinwumi A. Adesina while on a working visit to Côte d’Ivoire. Meeting Thursday at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan, they discussed Ethiopia’s current and post-Covid-19 development priorities.
Describing the African Development Bank as Ethiopia’s development partner of choice, President Sahlework commended the Bank for its longstanding support and its role in Ethiopia’s development.
“In so many areas — agriculture, transport, energy, the water sector, multisector — the support we have been getting for years from the African Development Bank, up to more than one billion dollars, has been very vital for Ethiopia,” she said.
She added that Ethiopians had endured a difficult time over the past two years but that there were positive signs for the future despite the troubles the country was going through. “Industrial parks have especially brought about hope for many young Ethiopians, but specifically women,” she said.
President Zewde said she was personally interested in the Bank’s youth employment/women empowerment project, describing it as one which is as close to her heart as it is to Adesina’s.
Lauding the partnership between the Bank and the Ethiopian government, Dr. Adesina cited several Bank-financed initiatives which he said were helping to bring the Bank’s High 5 priorities to fruition in Ethiopia. “We are proud to have supported the Addis Ababa to Nairobi highway, which is linking Ethiopia and Kenya. This is a one-billion-dollar investment that we are financing, which is allowing Ethiopia and Kenya to increase bilateral trade by 400%.”
He identified other projects in the pipeline, including $402 million earmarked for investment in various operations, including the Addis Ababa Kebena Urban River Development Project, and an institutional project involving the private sector.
Adesina reaffirmed support for Ethiopia’s efforts to address political instability internally and in the wider Horn of Africa region. “We will do everything we can to rally support around Ethiopia,” he assured President Zewde. “We all stand with you and pray that this will be resolved soon.”
The African Development Bank’s portfolio in Ethiopia includes 20 projects with a value of about $1.6 billion across several sectors, including transport, energy, water, and sanitation.