•   High-Level Consultation Meeting brings together Heads of the Arab Coordination Group and the African Development Bank Group in Abidjan
  • Joint declaration adopted to strengthen partnership for Africa’s economic transformation.

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have today launched a new phase of their partnership aimed at scaling co-financing, mobilising private capital, and accelerating Africa’s economic transformation.

The High-Level Consultation Meeting convened at the AfDB’s headquarters in Abidjan, established a common platform to move from fragmented cooperation toward programmatic, large-scale co-investment aligned with the continent’s economic development priorities.

The consultation took place at a time when Africa faces a widening development financing gap and an urgent need to mobilise capital at scale for energy access, climate resilience, food security, regional integration, and private-sector-led growth.

It also reflected the collective ambition of the ACG’s members to expand their engagement with Africa, deployed in a more coordinated and catalytic manner.

From Cooperation to Co-Investment at Scale

Discussions focused on how the ACG and the AfDB can jointly anchor Arab African co-financing bringing together their respective balance sheets, long-term and counter-cyclical financing capacities, sectoral expertise, and country platform to mobilise larger, more coordinated public and private investment in support of Africa’s development investment priorities. Participants explored concrete pathways to enhance joint project preparation, harmonise financing approaches, strengthen policy dialogue, leverage comparative advantages, and supporting country-led development agendas, while ensuring that investments delivered measurable impact and long-term resilience.

The consultation was also framed within the AfDB’s agenda to strengthen Africa’s financial sovereignty through a New African Financial Architecture (NAFA), aimed at better integrating development finance institutions, guarantee providers, insurers, capital markets, and private investors.

Joint Declaration Sets the Framework for Follow-Up

The High-Level Consultation Meeting culminated in the adoption of a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership between the ACG and the AfDB. The Declaration articulates a shared political vision, and translates it into operational direction, with clear priority areas for cooperation. It also establishes principles for institutional follow-up mechanisms to guide the next phase of Arab - African partnership.  

As a practical next step, the Declaration provides for the development of a Financing and Operational Partnership Framework, to be considered in 2026, which will define modalities for co-financing, pipeline coordination, mutual reliance, and regular joint programming. It also recognises the central role of the African Development Fund (ADF) the AfDB Group’s concessional financing arm in supporting low-income and fragile countries. The Declaration also calls for exploring closer collaboration between ACG institutions and ADF.

About the Arab Coordination Group (ACG)

The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) is a strategic alliance that provides a coordinated response to development finance. Since its establishment in 1975, the ACG has been instrumental in developing economies and communities for a better future, providing more than 13,000 development loans to over 160 countries around the globe. The ACG works across the globe to support developing nations and create a lasting, positive impact. The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) is considered one of the most important and effective development partnerships at the international level. The group actively works to adopt the best global practices in sustainable development work. It also aims to align the efforts of these institutions to achieve convergence and harmonisation in the policies governing their financing operations.

The Group comprises 10 national, Arab regional, and international institutions, including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Gulf Programme for Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Qatar Fund for Development and the Saudi Fund for Development.

www.theACG.org

About the African Development Bank Group

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) is Africa’s premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 44 African countries with an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states.  

For more information: www.afdb.org