Tunis, 19 April 2006 – The Boards of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) and the African Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday, 19 April 2006, have approved US$ 8.5 billion for financing debt relief of 33 low-income countries in Africa under the Fund’s Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The ADF Board of Governors is expected to adopt a Resolution on the compensatory financing scheme, in May 2006, to authorize debt cancellation and financing of the debt relief.

The ADB Vice-President for North, East and South Operations, Mr. Theodore Nkodo and the Ethiopian Ambassador to France, Mr. Sahle-Work Zewde, signed in Tunis, the agreement for the loan which will be used to support the implementation of the Government’s Sustainable Development & Poverty Reduction Programme.

AfDB and the Global Trade Liquidity Program (GTLP)

Responding to the Global Financial Crisis, African Development Bank (AfDB) invests up to USD 500 million in the Global Trade Liquidity Program. The AfDB Private Sector Department Director and his colleagues explain. Video

The ADB Vice-President for operations, Mr. Bisi Ogunjobi and Uganda’s Minister of State in charge of Investments, Finances Planning and Economic Development, Mr.

The Minister of Finance of Liberia and Governor for her country in the Bank Group, Mrs. Antoinette Sayeh is currently on a two-day visit to the Bank in Tunis. She met with OCVP, FFMA and FFCO teams on Thursday. The discussions focused on arrears clearance, medium- term outlook for Bank engagement in Liberia, Bank support under the private sector window, assistance in capacity building, overall future programme for Liberia and other issues necessary to maintain a cordial working relationship between the two sides. V.P. Zeinab El-Bakri chaired the meeting. The ED for Liberia, Mr.