BADEA’s Director General visits Botswana
GABORONE, Botswana, April 26, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — H.E. Mr. Abdelaziz KHELEF, Director General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) arrives today, Wednesday the 21st of April 2010, at Goborone, capital of the Republic of Botswana.
During his sojourn in Botswana, he will hold talks with Senior Government Officials spearheaded by H.E. Honorable M.C. Tibone, Assistant Minister of Finance and Development Planning, as well as meetings with other relevant ministers and high-ranking officials.
The visit comes as part of BADEA’s communication process with its partner/beneficiary countries during which the Director General will seize the opportunity to discuss the mutual cooperation issues between Botswana and BADEA and the status of some of the on-going and future programmes with the objective of exploring the various ways and means of enhancing and promoting such cooperation for the benefit of the final beneficiaries.
It is to be recalled that the cooperation between Botswana and BADEA, commenced in 1975 and by the end of March 2010, BADEA’s total gross assistance to the Republic of Botswana reached US $ 127.465 million representing contributions towards financing 25 development operations, which consists of 7 technical assistance grants, 18 project loans.
BADEA is an independent International Institution established by virtue of an agreement between 18 Arab States in February 1974, for the purpose of strengthening the African-Arab cooperation and linkages. Its operations are exclusively directed to the benefit of African countries non-members of the League of Arab States and include all 43 Sub-Saharan African states, in addition to a number of regional organizations. The operations, in the form of concessionary project loans, technical assistance grants for capacity building grants and trade finance loans cover all economic sectors.
Since commencement of operations in 1975, the total allocations of BADEA to all the African countries have grown to reach US $ 3822.177 million by March 2010, and have been earmarked to finance 484 development projects, 470 technical assistance operations, 35 loans for the private sector and 14 special operations (in the context of Emergency Aid Programme which was targeted to several African countries effected by drought and desertification). For Trade Finance BADEA has allocated $ 148.583 million for 28 operations in 10 countries by March 2010.
The projects selected by BADEA are those, which are technically, economically and environmentally viable and the country programmes are demand driven and are subject to the priority of the partner countries and fit within their medium and short-term development programmes.
SOURCE
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)
