AfDB, World Bank to look at addressing Africa’s debt vulnerabilities
The African Development Bank and the World Bank will host a high-level meeting to provide a forum for member countries of both institution to express their views and lessons learnt from non-concessional borrowing, emerging debt vulnerabilities and the International Development Association’s proposed approach to support countries adopt sustainable borrowing practices, from 16 to 17 May.
The meeting will also be an opportunity for countries to discuss ‘financing for development’ and ‘debt sustainability’ in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals agenda and the Addis Ababa action plan.
According to a statement, the meeting will tackle questions like what is the role of multilateral development banks in solving this challenge? How can the African Development Bank and the World Bank work together to provide solutions?
The questions and the outcomes of the meeting will feed into the discussions on policy frameworks for African Development Fund countries and the respective debt policies of both banks.
Meanwhile both banks realise that debt in African countries has been on the rise in recent years, with one of the causes being the decline in commodity prices that has unfolded since the global financial crisis of 2008.
According to the banks, proceeds from main exports have dwindled and economic growth has slowed, therefore African governments have increasingly resorted to borrowing to fill the void in their budgets.
