Abidjan: The African Development Bank (AfDB) 2025 Annual Meetings
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Annual Meetings are the institution’s most significant statutory event. They bring together the Boards of Governors, representing its 81 member countries, as well as the Bank’s leadership. This event provides an opportunity to review the Bank’s operations over the past year, adopt strategic resolutions, and define key priorities for the continent’s development.
These meetings attract over 3,000 participants, including governors, executive directors, development partners, philanthropists, academics, private sector leaders, civil society representatives, media, and Bank staff.
2025 Annual Meetings in Abidjan
The 2025 Annual Meetings will take place in Abidjan, the AfDB’s headquarters, from May 26 to 30. This edition will mark:
- The 60th Anniversary of the AfDB,
- The 50th Anniversary of the African Development Fund, dedicated to low-income countries,
- The election of a new president to succeed Dr. Akinwumi Adesina.
A memorandum of understanding was signed on November 20, 2024, by Nialé Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Economy, and Professor Vincent O. Nmehielle, AfDB Secretary General, establishing the legal and organizational framework for this event.
Strategic Context:
- These meetings will be held amidst geopolitical tensions and socio-economic transformations.
- They will serve as a strategic platform to assess Africa’s challenges and opportunities for development.
Abidjan’s Advantages
- High-quality infrastructure, skilled personnel, and a proven track record in hosting major events.
- Strong support from Ivorian authorities, fostering regional cooperation.
The AfDB and Côte d’Ivoire, a key member country, maintain a robust partnership. The Bank’s investments in Côte d’Ivoire have grown from $460 million in 2015 to $3.1 billion in 2023, spanning critical sectors such as energy, health, ICT, and climate.
These meetings will highlight Côte d’Ivoire’s legendary hospitality and its pivotal role in promoting African unity.
Organizer
The overarching objective of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction.
The Bank Group achieves this objective by:
mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in RMCs; and
providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts.
In 2015, all multilateral development institutions have agreed on a same set of objectives, called the Sustainable Development Goals. They are:
Sustainable Development Goals
Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
