Yesterday, Vice President Kashim Shettima departed from Abuja to attend the International Development Association (IDA21) Heads of State Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. He is representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the summit, which aims to rally African leaders in advocating for increased funding for the World Bank’s International Development Association.
The summit, hosted by Kenyan President William Ruto, seeks to secure a robust replenishment of the IDA’s concessional lending arm. Shettima, in his role, will champion Nigeria’s vision for an impactful IDA21 financing package that will drive development across the continent from 2024 to 2026.
The draft “Nairobi IDA Communique,” which will be discussed at the summit, outlines the urgent priorities for the upcoming three-year funding cycle. These priorities include human capital development, job creation, improving energy and digital infrastructure, enhancing climate resilience, and fostering sustainable growth.
While expressing gratitude for the $23.5 billion contributed by donors during the current IDA20 cycle, the communique emphasizes that this level of financing is insufficient to meet the extensive investment needs of African nations. It calls on IDA partners and donors to significantly increase their contributions to ensure a robust replenishment for IDA21.
During the summit, Vice President Shettima is expected to highlight the crucial role of partners like IDA in Nigeria’s economic transformation agenda. Given the country’s youthful population, substantial investments in areas such as job creation, energy access, and human capital development are necessary.
The Nairobi summit follows previous IDA gatherings in Abidjan in 2021 and Dakar in 2022, where African leaders rallied for ambitious replenishments for IDA20 from donors.