NEPAD Agency Chief Executive Officer Dr Ibrahim Mayaki has paid tribute to the exemplary leadership of the African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr Donald Kaberuka as he prepares to leave at the end of 2015 after a successful completion of two terms at the helm of the Bank.

The two heads held a bilateral meeting yesterday at the Bank's Headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, aimed at strengthening relations between the two institutions. They discussed a number of joint programmes and projects which are championed by the AfDB and NEPAD Agency, and highlighted the need for the acceleration of specific projects.

Dr Mayaki commended Dr Kaberuka for the ongoing support provided by the AfDB to the NEPAD Agency. The support for the outcomes of the Dakar Financing Summit (DFS) in June 2014 was discussed in detail, with the DFS as a milestone in identifying 16 bankable infrastructure projects that will address Africa's regional infrastructure deficit. 

Specific areas where the Bank can support both the Continental Business Network, to be launched on June 1, 2015 in Cape Town, and the Service Delivery Mechanism (SDM) to support early-stage project preparation and development were mentioned as follow-up to the DFS.

During the discussions the Acting Vice President of the AfDB responsible for infrastructure, private sector and regional integration, Mr Alex Rugamba, detailed a number of infrastructure projects sponsored by the Bank, of which the NEPAD Agency took note.

Dr Kaberuka outlined the progress made with respect to the Bank's Africa 50 Fund, as a pool to facilitate large-scale mobilisation of resources and to unlock international private financing for infrastructure. He informed Dr Mayaki that the founding shareholder's meeting will take place on May 21, 2015, ahead of the African Development Bank's 50 year anniversary and substantive Annual Meetings to take place in Abidjan between May 25-29,2015.