( AfDB) - The African Development Bank and the African Solidarity Fund (ASF) have signed a letter of intent to strengthen the two institutions’ working relationship and synergy.

The partnership was ratified by Aida Ngom, Director of the Private Sector Development Department, on behalf of the African Development Bank Group, and Abdourahmane Diallo, the Fund's Managing Director, at the opening ceremony of the third Ordinary Session of the Board of Governors of the African Solidarity Fund.           

This strategic partnership represents a first step towards boosting cooperation between the Bank and the Fund as regards knowledge-sharing and technical assistance in a number of areas related to risk management and the organisational and management structures of the ASF.

Diallo  described the signing as a symbol of an ambitious and promising partnership between the two institutions. He stressed the unwavering commitment of his teams to completing work in progress, which includes dynamic collaboration to implement the Bank's projects and programmes aimed at young people, women and other target groups in Africa. “This approach reflects the African Solidarity Fund's commitment to promoting inclusive and sustainable development on the continent,” he said.

“As far as the African Development Bank is concerned, the African Solidarity Fund is a strategic and important institution. We look forward to our two institutions working more closely together via this strategic partnership,” said Ngom.

About the African Solidarity Fund (ASF)

The African Solidarity Fund (ASF) is a multilateral financial institution based in Niamey, Niger. It comprises 21 African member states (Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo) and the Development Bank of the Central African States (BDEAC). The ASF's mission is to contribute to the economic development and social progress of its African member states by facilitating, through its various intervention techniques, access to the financial resources required to execute investment projects and other income-generating activities. The Fund's primary intervention technique is the guarantee of bank loans intended to fund financially and economically profitable industrial, agricultural, commercial, infrastructure-related and service-focused operations or projects executed or to be executed within the regional member states. For more information, please visit the Fund's website: www.fondsolidariteafricain.org

About the African Development Bank Group

The African Development Bank Group 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 Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information: www.afdb.org