The post-election turmoil that took place in Cote d’Ivoire saw the temporary relocation of the African Development Bank (AfDB); however, the Bank has signed a new deal that will see it coming back to Abidjan.
AfDB president Donald Kaberuka and Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Daniel Kablan Duncan signed a revised headquarters agreement which confirms the Bank’s full ownership of the land on which its current Abidjan headquarters is situated.
The AfDB relocated its operations temporarily to Tunis from Abidjan during the unfolding crisis in Côte d’Ivoire in 2003. At the Annual Meetings of the AfDB Group in Lisbon this June, its board of governors decided that the period of temporary relocation would be three years from the date of the resolution. This was with the proviso that the situation in Côte d’Ivoire be closely monitored and the period of temporary relocation placed on the agenda of the Board of Governors at an earlier date should there be a significant change.
Since the temporary relocation, a framework was put in place for the continuous review of the situation in Côte d’Ivoire in order to determine the most appropriate conditions and time for its return. The AfDB and the Cote d’Ivoire government set up a bipartisan committee made up of senior representatives of the government and the Bank to lead this work.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Kaberuka said: “We are committed to the AfDB’s return to Abidjan as early as possible, subject to the decisions to be taken by the AfDB’s Board of Governors in due course.”
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