Early this decade， African leaders came forward with a home grown blueprint for the continent. A realization that comes 2030， Africa will be as populous as China and India today. We want such an Africa to be prosperous， stable， integrated and taking its proper place in the global community of nations. It is clear that to get to that point， there are preconditions good governance， removing causes of instability， building capable states， and integrating Africa’s fragmented markets. These are issues which only Africans can put in place， and indeed have agreed to “own” and to “fix”.
In doing so， we know that there is no single development model. Initial conditions differ， so are each country‘s endowments， history and even geography. But we do also in full realization of the critical importance of partnerships. Two types of partnerships： the first between Africa and the outside world a relationship not of dependence but of inter-dependence in which the international community on one hand an Africa itself each side fulfills its obligations. The so called doctrine of “Mutual Accountability” of obligations entered into at the Millennium Summit： to eliminate poverty by 2015， to remove barriers to trade， to cut emissions and to provide more meaningful support to the least developed countries. But in the same spirit， it also implies that Africa must fulfill its side of the deal drawing lessons fromthe past where poor leadership led to decline and decay， and to build capable states， well governed， accountable at all levels， where a true partnership internal must be built between Governments， Private Sector， and Civil Society Organizations. The bridges must be built between the three.
Let me now share with you what we are doing at the African Development Bank to consolidate the Continent’s achievements：
The Bank seeks to respond effectively to the highly diverse expectations of all its member countries： Middle Income Countries， Lower Income Countries and Fragile States， as we at same time pursue regional integration. Last year we deployed close to five billion dollars including debt relief.
Some of our members are non-borrowing and aspire to middle-income economies status； they have a multitude of needs in terms of pockets of poverty and technical know-how， which the bank must be equipped to respond to with a range of products and services for bank regulation， business， law reforms， etc.
It is for that reason we are deepening our internal capacities to better respond to this constantly changing economic landscape. In this respect， I am pleased to report the successful efforts of bringing Africa‘s leading economists and think tanks to reflect on development issues of the day. Some of you were present at the launch of the African Economic Conference and I look forward to seeing you in November 2008 in Tunis.
We have opted to be more focused and selective， in order to be really effective. We are therefore engaged in carving out a set of distinctive activities and responsibilities in sectors and domains that can confer us a clear “comparative advantage”. Our ability to work together in “strategic alliances” with other institutions including universities such as yourselves could enable us to ensure collective excellency.
A growing consensus that to reduce poverty economies must grow atabout 7% per annum hence the domains that can unlock growth potential， such as energy， reduce costs of doing business and maximize Africa’s chances for MDGs.
We share the belief that Africa‘s dependence on aid should gradually decline giving way to the private sector domain. We see our role as catalyst： to crowd in investment as financier， advisor and partner. We are constantly deploying new financial instruments， including risk sharing products， syndication and local currency financing.
Our continent still faces its historical handicaps， geographic fragmentation. Although Africa is the world’s second largest continent at 30.4 million square kilometers and the second most populous， its land people is divided between 53 countries creating the greatest number of states per square area of the continent； and infrastructure remains a major handicap for intra- African trade.