Sharm El Sheikh gets ready for AfDB Annual Meetings
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt (PANA) - The Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh is preparing to host the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s Annual Meetings in May, so soon after successfully hosting COP27 in November 2022.
The AfDB said on its website that a preparatory mission to Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh, led by the Bank’s Secretary General, Vincent Nmehielle, expressed satisfaction with the progress made to date towards the organization of the meetings, to be held from 22 to 26, May, 2023.
It said that the Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt and current Chairman of the Boards of Governors of the AfDB Group, Mr. Hassan Abdalla, and Prof. Nmehielle met on Tuesday to review the general state of preparedness for the meetings.
While concluding that Sharm El Sheikh has quality infrastructure and the necessary facilities to host the Annual Meetings, Abdalla and Nmehielle encouraged the National Organizing Committee and the Bank team to spare no effort towards completing all pending organizational matters to ensure the success of the meetings.
According to Abdalla, hosting the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank in Sharm El Sheikh confirms the keenness of the Egyptian leadership to strengthen and deepen cooperation with Africa across all fields, with special focus on economic collaboration.
"Through my Egyptian chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and through overseeing the ongoing preparations with the African Development Bank, I give the assurance that Egypt will save no efforts to make this year’s meetings a remarkable and unforgettable one,” Abdalla said.
And the Secretary General, Nmehielle, expressed satisfaction that Sharm El Sheikh is prepared to host the meetings.
“I am happy with the speed with which the beautification works of the city of Sharm el-Sheikh have been accomplished since the Bank Group’s first preparatory mission in September 2022,” he said.
The delegation also met officials from various Egyptian institutions, including the Governor of South Sinai Province, Staff Maj.-Gen. Khaled Fouda, staff of the Central Bank of Egypt, along with all the ministries involved in the organization of the meetings.
The delegation noted that the city’s infrastructure had benefited from hosting the COP27 Climate Change Summit in November last year, and the capacity of Sharm El Sheikh airport has doubled from 5 to 10 million passengers per year, while high-speed internet and the introduction of charging stations for electric vehicles have created a first-class infrastructure.
The Annual Meetings bring together finance ministers from the Bank Group’s 81 regional and non-regional member countries.
The event, featuring about 4,000 participants, will be attended by Central Bank governors, key private sector leaders, academics and development partners.
-0- PANA VAO/MA 9Feb2023
