Experts from the African Development Bank (AfDB) began a technical mission on April 14 to assess the reception capacities of the Congolese capital, in terms of conference infrastructure, accommodation, communication technologies, health, transport and logistics.
At the head of a strong delegation of the infrastructural facilities assessment mission, André Basse, chief of protocol of the ADB, was received on Wednesday, April 14 by the mayor of Brazzaville, Dieudonné Bantsimba. The discussions, unsurprisingly, revolved around the capacity of the capital city to host future annual meetings of the Pan-African financial institution.
“We had a good meeting with the mayor; it is within the framework of an appraisal mission for the organization of the annual meetings of the ADB for the cycle 2022-2026. As you know, the Republic of Congo has expressed an interest in hosting the ADB, for the cycle which begins in 2022 and which will end in 2026 ”, suggested the chief of protocol of the ADB, André Basse.
The Congolese capital is, in fact, used to hosting pan-African and international meetings. For the time being, the mission reserves the right to comment on this matter. She continues to work with the Congolese authorities, with field visits, before revealing the content of her assessment. “The challenge is to report on evaluations on the ground, to enable decisions to be taken by the AfDB Board of governors next June,” said André Basse.
It should be remembered that the ADB is one of the main development partners of the Republic of Congo. Its intervention portfolio is estimated at 263.2 million dollars or approximately one hundred and fifty-five billion FCFA. For example, it is the ADB that has financed the construction of the Ketta-Djoum integration road, connecting Congo and Cameroon, to the tune of FCFA 232.6 billion, and should finance the Integrated Value Chain Development Project. agricultural products for an amount of 87 million euros, or more than 57 billion FCFA. This agricultural project is intended to diversify the local economy.
During the review of the institution’s portfolio in favour of the country in April 2019, the two parties noted poor performance in the disbursement of funding. Since this exercise, they have undertaken to find the best formula to reduce the slowness of the bank’s opinions, the preparation and the evaluation of document.
