London, Feb. 13, 2019 (AltAfrica)-The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat and the President of the African Development Bank Akinwumi Adesina, met Tuesday in Addis Ababa to reaffirm their commitment to accelerate Africa’s economic transformation.

Mahamat and Adesina co-chaired a high-level consultative meeting attended by senior management of both institutions to take stock of the ongoing collaboration between the two institutions. Discussions focused on ways to strengthen partnership in delivering Agenda 2063 and other global frameworks for development.

AUC Chairperson Mahamat noted the strong alignment of the African Development Bank’s High 5 strategic priorities with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The African Development Bank is the financial muscle of the African Union as far as Agenda 2063 is concerned, and we need to further institutionalize this partnership to make it more effective,” Mahamat said.

Addressing the audience, Adesina recalled that it was at the first meeting of the AUC, then known as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, that heads of state endorsed the establishment of the African Development Bank. Since then, there has been a long history of cooperation between the two institutions.

“We must, therefore, build on the long-standing relations between our two institutions and pool our collective expertise and resources in pursuit of the economic development and social transformation of our dear continent,” he said.

Adesina underscored the strategic importance of the Joint Secretariat Support Office (JSSO) for the African Union Commission, UNECA and the African Development Bank. He also reaffirmed the Bank’s need to position JSSO as a platform to foster effective coordination and collaboration, while leveraging the comparative advantages of the three pan-African institutions.

The Meeting welcomed the appointment of Lamin Barrow as the new Director for the JSSO and the Bank’s Permanent Representative to the African Union.

In a declaration issued at the end of the meeting, both leaders pledged to support the speedy implementation of various continental initiatives, Agenda 2063 and its 12 Flagship Programmes. These include the implementation of the Grand Inga Dam Port; the African Passport and Free Movement of People; the establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market; an African Virtual University; the Integrated High Speed Train Network and the establishment of a Continental Free Trade Area.

The institutions further recognized the need to continue to explore opportunities to accelerate the implementation of programmes with Regional Economic Communities and partners.

The communique resolved to prepare an action plan for the implementation of the resource mobilization strategy set in place to advance the continent’s development agenda.

The institutions also committed to work together for the successful replenishment of the African Development Fund and the Bank Group’s General Capital Increase.

The President rounded off his engagement at the AU Summit with a series of bilateral meetings, beginning with new AU Chairman and President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, H.E.M. Abdel Fattah el-Sis. Adesina also held talks with Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone, Demesse Makonnen, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Raila Odinga, African Union Special Envoy on Infrastructure