NAIROBI, April 29 (Xinhua) -- African leaders on Monday began a two-day summit in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, by calling for increased concessional funding from the World Bank's International Development Association (IDA).
The leaders called for a tripling of the financing capacity of the IDA, which supports low-income countries with grants and long-term low-interest loans for development, to 279 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.
"Our proposal and request entail a vision for Africa-driven socio-economic development, executed with transparency and inclusiveness, and our case is straightforward: Significant capital injection into IDA is crucial," Kenyan President William Ruto said during the IDA21 Africa Heads of State Summit.
The event brought together presidents of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Ghana, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Comoros, Mauritania, Central African Republic, Madagascar and Somalia. Also present were the prime ministers of Ethiopia, Guinea, and Algeria as well as President of the World Bank Group Ajay Banga.
Ruto noted that additional funding for the IDA, which currently supports 75 nations, 39 of them in Africa, would not only be a relief for many African and other developing nations facing severe debt crises but also make available the much-needed resources to unlock Africa's vast resources.
The Kenyan leader acknowledged the impactful demand-driven programs of the IDA, coupled with concessional loans lasting 40 to 50 years, empowering borrowing nations to pursue sustainable, long-term development strategies.
Ghanian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said mobilizing finance and investment is central to Africa's development needs and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Akufo-Addo noted that Africa's challenge is not a scarcity of financing, but rather overcoming a global economic system that has failed to allocate sufficient long-term resources to support Africa's economic transformation. "That is why boosting the resources of the IDA whose ability to generate concessional financing represents an effective way to respond to the obstacles African countries encounter in the present global system," he said.
The summit, hosted by Kenya and the World Bank Group, will identify key priorities for financing in Africa and champion an ambitious financing replenishment of IDA resources as the current replenishment cycle is known -- that would support transformational development objectives for the African region.
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu said the IDA should concentrate on giving concessional loans to enhance Africa's development financing.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali said increasing the IDA's financial capacity will significantly enhance Africa's ability to address its complex challenges. "While the IDA's existing support must be commended, the sheer scale of challenges many African countries face necessitates a renewed approach," he said.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni noted that affordable financing for the development of infrastructure such as railways, electricity, and investment in irrigation will go a long way in spurring rapid economic growth in Africa.
Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera added that Malawi welcomes the replenishment of the IDA as a vehicle for economic transformation.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said a larger replenishment of the IDA will help his government achieve its national objectives of reducing poverty and creating opportunities in Somalia and Africa. "The IDA is a major lifeline that the country is relying on to enable its ambitious national transformation agenda in this hopeful post-debt relief period," he said. ■