THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ARAB BANK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA VISITS THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA

THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE ARAB BANK FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IN AFRICA VISITS THE REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA

H. E. Mr. Medhat S. Lotfy, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) arrived on Sunday 11th July 2004 at Gaborone, the capital of the Republic of Botswana, as part of a regional visit to the Republics of Ethiopia, Lesotho and Senegal extending from 4th July to 20th July 2004.

During his visit to the Republic of Botswana, he will be received on Wednesday 14th July 2004, by H.E. the President of the Republic of Botswana, in addition to the Minister of Finance, and other high-ranking government officials.

Talks will cover areas of cooperation between the Republic of Botswana and BADEA, with the objective of exploring the best means to promote and develop the relations and realize the objectives of development in Botswana.

By the end of June 2004, BADEA’s assistance to Botswana reached the sum of US $ 109.02 million to finance 21 development operations. BADEA’s contribution in the projects financed in Botswana was well timed to meet the economic development of the country, and covered all sectors. The amount allocated to infrastructure projects reached to US $ 86.49 million to finance mainly roads projects, while agriculture sector received US $ 2.20 million, energy sector US $ 10 million, private sector US 5.40 million, finance sector US 4 million, in addition to the US $ 0.99 million allocated to technical assistance grants.

It’s worth mentioning that 19 participants from Botswana participated in the training sessions organized by BADEA in the framework of technical assistance grants.

BADEA was created pursuant to the decision of the 6th Arab Summit Conference at Algiers (28th November 1973), and commenced its operations in March 1975. Its headquarters is based in Khartoum, the capital of the Republic of Sudan.
The Bank was established for the purpose of strengthening economic, financial and technical cooperation between Arab and African regions, to make Arab-African solidarity a concrete reality and to base this cooperative venture on foundations of friendship and equality. To achieve this goal, the Bank was given a mandate to: -

- Assist in financing economic development in non-Arab African countries.

- Stimulate the contribution of Arab capital flows to African development.

- Help provide the technical assistance required for development in Africa.

BADEA’s financing operations have grown since 1975, to reach US $ 2814.058 million by end of June 2004. These include loans provided through SAAFA (Special Arab Aid Fund for Africa) amounting to US $ 214.2 million, and have been earmarked to finance 352 development projects, 318 technical assistance operations, 26 loans for the private sector and 14 special operations (in the context of Emergency Aid Programme operations for the benefit of several African countries effected by drought and desertification), in addition to 59 loans extended through SAAFA.

BADEA’s commitments to the technical assistance operations to-date stand at US $ 76.564 million, earmarked to finance feasibility studies and institutional support.

BADEA’s operations cover all 43 eligible countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, in addition to a number of regional organizations. They cover infrastructure, agriculture, rural development, energy, industry, social and financial sector in the form of project loans and technical assistance grants.

The projects selected by BADEA are directed towards improving the living conditions of the target beneficiaries, particularly those projects related to rural development and environment, such as rural water supply and sewage, or those aiming at reducing negative impact of drought and desertification, and reducing poverty. This is obviously in line with current approaches to development.