The Congolese Government and the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group have hailed the successful outcome of the Bank’s 2026 Annual Meetings held in Brazzaville.

They said this at a media briefing marking the end of the 2026 AfDB Annual Meetings in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, on Friday.

Congo’s Minister of Finance and chair of AfDB’s Annual Meetings, Christian Yoka, said the meetings recorded strong support from governors and member countries for AfDB’s new strategic direction.

According to Mr Yoka, stakeholders also garnered support for the proposed African Financial Architecture for Development of the bank.

He said the Republic of Congo was honoured to host the event, which was a major success for Africa in spite of concerns arising from developments outside the country before the meetings commenced.

“We have now reached the conclusion of these Annual Meetings, which the Republic of Congo was honoured to host and which, I believe, were organised under the best possible conditions.

“It is true that on the eve of the meetings there were concerns due to events that occurred far from Congolese borders, about 3,000 kilometres away, but in spite of that, everything went very well,” he said.

Mr Yoka said the meetings marked an important moment for Africa as a “worthy son of the continent” assumed leadership of the continent’s premier development finance institution.

According to him, the vision presented by the new AfDB president seeks to empower Africa to finance its own development and rely primarily on its internal strengths and resources.

“That project seeks to empower Africa to take responsibility for its own destiny, finance its own development, and rely first and foremost on itself,” he said.

He added that discussions during the meetings focused largely on the Bank’s future strategy, including a proposed 10-year action plan anchored on four cardinal priorities introduced by Tah.

“At this stage, I believe things have gone very well. We have endorsed the Bank’s major strategic orientations, especially its future direction and ten-year action plan,” Yoka said.

In his remarks, AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah described the Brazzaville meetings as his first annual meetings since assuming office as President of the AfDB Group.

Mr Tah said the meetings provided an opportunity to present his vision to governors and secure broad support for implementing the Bank’s new strategy and the African Financial Architecture for Development.

“They provided a real opportunity to present to the governors my vision based on four cardinal priorities and to gather their guidance and, above all, their strong support,” he said.

Mr Tah commended the Republic of Congo and President Denis Nguesso for successfully hosting the meetings in spite of prevailing global and regional challenges.

“These meetings took place in a particularly difficult global environment and in a regional context marked by various health-related challenges.

“Yet in spite of these circumstances, the organisation was excellent, the exchanges were rich, and important decisions were made,” he said.

The AfDB president expressed appreciation to the Congolese government and people for their hospitality and efforts in ensuring the success of the meetings.

 (NAN)