The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) and the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) have launched a new phase of their partnership aimed at scaling co-financing, mobilising private capital, and accelerating Africa’s economic transformation. The initiative was formalised during a High-Level Consultation Meeting at the AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, which created a platform to shift from fragmented cooperation toward programmatic, large-scale co-investment aligned with the continent’s development priorities. This collaboration comes at a time when Africa faces a growing development financing gap and an urgent need to mobilise capital for energy access, climate resilience, food security, regional integration, and private-sector-led growth. The partnership also reflects the shared ambition of ACG members to increase their engagement with Africa in a coordinated and catalytic manner.
The consultation discussions focused on how the ACG and AfDB can jointly anchor Arab-African co-financing by combining their balance sheets, financing capacities, sectoral expertise, and country platforms. The goal is to mobilise larger and more coordinated public and private investment to support Africa’s development priorities. Participants explored ways to enhance joint project preparation, harmonise financing approaches, strengthen policy dialogue, leverage comparative advantages, and support country-led development agendas while ensuring measurable impact and long-term resilience. This initiative is aligned with AfDB’s agenda to strengthen Africa’s financial sovereignty through the New African Financial Architecture, which aims to integrate development finance institutions, guarantee providers, insurers, capital markets, and private investors.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of a Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership, which outlines a shared political vision and translates it into operational direction with clear priority areas for cooperation. The Declaration establishes principles for institutional follow-up mechanisms to guide the next phase of Arab-African collaboration. As a practical next step, it proposes the development of a Financing and Operational Partnership Framework to be considered in 2026, defining modalities for co-financing, pipeline coordination, mutual reliance, and regular joint programming. It also recognises the central role of the African Development Fund in supporting low-income and fragile countries and calls for exploring closer collaboration between ACG institutions and the Fund.
The Arab Coordination Group, established in 1975, is a strategic alliance that provides a coordinated response to development finance. It has delivered over 13,000 development loans to more than 160 countries and works to harmonise the policies of its ten member institutions, which include major Arab and regional development banks and funds. The group focuses on adopting global best practices in sustainable development to create a lasting positive impact worldwide.
The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution, comprising the African Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Nigeria Trust Fund. With a presence in 44 African countries and an external office in Japan, the AfDB contributes to the economic and social progress of its 54 regional member states by financing initiatives that drive sustainable growth and regional development.
