Finance Minister welcomes newly appointed AfDB Country Manager

Addis Ababa, September 10, 2024, (FBC) – Mr. Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance,  today met with Dr. Leandre Bassole, the newly appointed African Development Bank (AfDB) Country Manager for Ethiopia and Deputy Director General for the East Africa.

In his welcoming remarks, Minister Ahmed Shide underscored the vital role of the AfDB’s support in recent years, especially in the infrastructure sector.

He stressed the importance of ongoing assistance from the Bank to advance Ethiopia’s reform agenda, highlighting the need for substantial investment and collaboration with key partners to achieve the government’s objectives.

On his part, Dr. Leandre Bassole applauded Ethiopia’s achievements thus far, reiterated the AfDB’s unwavering support as a long-standing development partner, and assured the Minister of the Bank’s commitment to leverage new financing opportunities, aligned with the ongoing projects.

Finally, the Minister expressed appreciation for the Bank’s valuable financial and technical assistance and called for continued strong partnership and collaboration.

In their conclusion of the meeting, the two parties signed a 1 million USD Grant Agreement which will finance the “Emergency and Humanitarian Assistance to Population Affected by Flood and Landslide” project. The resource will support the recently affected communities by floods and landslides in the country.