Contacts
World Bank
Lilia Burunciuc +1 202 473 8865
lburunciuc@worldbank.org
Eric Chinje+1 202 458 8418
echinje@worldbank.org
African Development Bank
Kazumi Larhed +216 7110 2134
k.ikeda-larhed@afdb.org
Onike Nicol-Houra +216 7110 3227
o.nicol@afdb.org
March 11, 2008 -- Increasing competitiveness of Middle Income Countries (MICs) will be the focus of a 2-day conference co-organized by the World Bank and African Development Bank on 11 – 12 March, 2008. The conference brings together delegates from 11 African countries to Egypt where the event is being held.
The objective of the conference is to promote a better alignment of the services provided by the World Bank and the African Development Bank and the needs of the Middle Income Countries in Africa, and explore how development partners might contribute to addressing the development challenges of the MICs, with a special focus on competitiveness including the investment climate, science and technology and infrastructure.
Participants include senior governmental officials from Algeria, Botswana, Gabon, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tunisia, and Egypt in addition to private sector and representatives of other multilateral development institutions such as the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and Asian Development Bank.
“This conference is a great opportunity to energize both traditional and new development partners and also the private sector to collaborate in meeting the development needs of the MICs,” said Hartwig Schafer, Director of Operations & Strategy, Africa Region, World Bank. “Overcoming these challenges will be key to enhancing competitiveness of MICs on an inclusive and sustainable basis that benefits all segments of society,” he emphasized.
“The African Development Bank recognizes the many diverse and dynamic development challenges that MICs face, and is in a strong position to adapt to assist MICs in addressing these challenges,” said Philbert Afrika, Director, Operations Policies and Compliance of the African Development Bank.
Emmanuel Mbi, World Bank Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, highlighted the importance of the conference by saying: “We are pleased to host the conference in Egypt and engage in this dialogue with our partners across Africa while exploring opportunities to coordinate our efforts with regional development organizations such as the African Development Bank.”
At the end of the conference, it is expected that the meeting will (i) produce new ideas on how MDBs and other partners can provide more useful services to MICs, and (ii) generate practical follow-up steps for new initiatives.
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For more information on the World Bank's activities in sub-Saharan Africa, please visit www.worldbank.org
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