President of the African Development Bank AfDB, Akinwumi Adesina said that the Bank is safe and sound in terms of finance, allaying fears expressed in certain quarters that the finances of the organization under severe stress. He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Bank’s Annual Meetings in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea recently. The shareholders of the Bank, he said, were impressed with the work done with Regional Integration in the continent, which will make the African market biggest in size and depth in the world. Mentioning that AfDB is at the core of accelerating development, he reiterated that the Bank has maintained its AAA rating to source for funds for the development of the continent. As of now, there is no financial distress. Incidentally, he disclosed that he would contest for the next election for the post of the bank president. He also exhorted African leaders to commit more resources for common development works. Referring to the UNCTAD study, he said that Africa as a continent has registered an upswing in the flow of FDI, while it dipped low in other geographies. During 2017 and 2018, global FDI dropped from US$1.5 trillion to $1.3 trillion globally. This has given the continent the status of a strategic investment hub, he added.
