African Development Bank (AfDB) has spent 3.8 billion Dollars on the construction and rehabilitation of roads and cross-border lines since 2009, Dr Ousmane Dore, the Country Director of the bank, said. Dore spoke at the “Regional Consultation and Dialogue Workshop’’ on the Mid-Term Review of West Africa Regional Integration Strategy Paper (WA-RISP) in Abuja.
He said the bank had also financed more than 70 multinational operations, which had resulted in the execution of projects during the period. According to him, the projects include the reform and modernisation of customs, strengthening of one-stop border post and implementation of the trade facilitation agreement at the World Trade Organisation.
He said that regional integration was one of the core operational priorities if the bank’s “Ten Year Strategy” to foster the continent’s economic integration and link landlocked countries to international markets. Dore said regional integration was essential for the realisation of the continent’s economic potential to participate in the global economy and to share the benefit of interconnected global market place.
“Through the bank’s longstanding experience and engagement in Africa, the bank is well positioned today to foster Africa’s economic integration to create larger, more attractive markets. The bank is also well positioned to link landlocked countries to international markets and support intra-African trade,” he said.
He said that the bank in November 2011 approved its WA-RISP covering 2011 to 2015, with the goal of advancing the integration agenda and to facilitate regional solutions.
Dore said the strategy provided the framework for selecting and prioritising the bank’s analytical, operational and partnership activities in support of regional integration in West Africa over the period.
“It focuses on two pillars, which are; linking regional markets through investment in infrastructure and trade and investment facilitation and building capacity for effective implementation of the regional integration agenda.’’ He said that the strategy was aligned with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Vision 2020 with the aim of establishing a unified market with economies of scale. The country director also said that WA-RISP had helped the region with the fastest growing economies in the continent, with an estimated growth of about 6.7 per cent in 2013.
He said that the workshop was aimed at reviewing the economic, political and structural changes that had taken place in the region since the inception of WA-RISP in 2011. “It will be an opportunity to share knowledge and draw on lessons learnt and articulate key actions going forward,” he said.
