Africa-Saudi Partnership Enters New Era with AfDB-Led Investment Push
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and key Saudi institutions have agreed to deepen their partnership to boost investments across Africa’s priority sectors, following high-level meetings held on the sidelines of the 2025 World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington.
AfDB President Dr. Sidi Ould Tah met with Mr. Saad AlKhalb, Chief Executive of the Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM), and Mr. Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, Chief Executive of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), to discuss new opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, trade infrastructure, and social development, including affordable housing.
Both parties described the talks as a significant milestone in Saudi-Africa relations, paving the way for joint efforts to foster sustainable growth, green industrialisation, and job creation across the continent.
Dr. Ould Tah highlighted several flagship AfDB initiatives — including Desert to Power, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones programme, and the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa — as key areas for future Saudi participation.
Discussions with Saudi EXIM centred on expanding cooperation in trade finance, credit guarantees, and export support, while talks with SFD focused on co-financing public sector investments in agriculture, energy, transport, and climate resilience.
The meetings reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s $41 billion pledge to Africa, announced at the New Africa Summit in 2024, which includes $10 billion in export finance and $5 billion in development funding.
The African Development Bank and its Saudi partners committed to accelerating the rollout of transformative projects that enhance economic resilience, unlock employment opportunities, and drive inclusive growth across the continent.
The 2025 World Bank Annual Meetings, held under the theme “Jobs – The Path to Prosperity,” emphasised the importance of partnerships in tackling global employment challenges and promoting sustainable economic transformation.
