Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh braces for African Development Bank’s annual meetings 2023

After successfully hosting COP27 in November 2022, the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh is getting ready for the African Development Bank Group’s (AfDB) annual meetings 2023 next May.

The AfDB has sent on Tuesday a preparatory mission to Cairo and Sharm El Sheikh led by the Bank’s Secretary General Vincent Nmehielle. The mission expressed satisfaction with the progress made to date towards the organisation of the meetings, to be held from 22 to 26 May 2023.

Hassan Abdalla, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and current chairman of the Boards of Governors of the AfDB, and Nmehielle met on Tuesday to review the general state of preparedness for the meetings.

While concluding that Sharm El Sheikh has quality infrastructure and the necessary facilities to host the Bank Group’s Annual Meetings, Abdalla and Nmehielle encouraged the National Organising Committee and the Bank team to spare no effort towards completing all pending organisational matters to ensure the success of the meetings.

“Hosting the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank in Sharm El Sheikh confirms the keenness of the Egyptian leadership to strengthen and deepen cooperation with Africa across all fields, with special focus on economic collaboration.” Hassan Abdalla said.

“Through my Egyptian chairmanship of the Board of Governors of the African Development Bank and through overseeing the ongoing preparations with the African Development Bank, I assure that Egypt will save no efforts to make this year’s meetings a remarkable and unforgettable one.”

AfDB’s Nmehielle expressed satisfaction Sharm El Sheikh is prepared to host the meetings.

“I am happy with the speed with which the beautification works of the city of Sharm el-Sheikh have been accomplished since the Bank Group’s first preparatory mission in September 2022,” Nmehielle said.

The delegation also met officials from various Egyptian institutions, including Khaled Fouda, governor of South Sinai, besides staff of the Central Bank of Egypt, and all the ministries involved in the organisation of the meetings.

The delegation stated that the city’s infrastructure had benefited from hosting the COP27 Climate Change Summit in November last year. The capacity of Sharm El-Sheikh Airport has doubled from 5 million to 10 million passengers per year, while high-speed internet and the introduction of charging stations for electric vehicles have created a first-class infrastructure.

The AfDB Annual Meetings 2023 bring together finance ministers from the Bank Group’s eighty-one regional and non-regional member countries. The event will be also attended by central banks’ governors, key private sector leaders, academics and development partners.

Up to 4,000 participants are expected to be present at the 2023 Annual Meetings at the Sharm El Sheikh International Conference Centre.