African Development Bank Group President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina arrived in Zimbabwe today at the start of a two-day official visit to the country.

Adesina accepted a request in February by the Zimbabwean government to serve as the country’s arrears clearance and debt resolution champion among international financial institutions and bilateral creditors.

The Bank Group President will meet with President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa and other government officials, including Finance and Economic Development Minister Mthuli Ncube, who is also Zimbabwe’s Governor on the Bank Group’s Board of Governors.

Discussions will focus on potential areas of technical assistance that the African Development Bank will provide to the Zimbabwean government. President Mnangagwa, elected in 2018, has introduced several economic reforms to stimulate economic recovery and stability.

Adesina will meet with several African and G7 ambassadors and representatives of international financial institutions accredited to Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is the only regional member country of the African Development Bank currently under sanctions from the Bank and other multilateral financial institutions because of debt arrears amounting to over $2.6 billion.

The African Development Bank has run the $145.8 million Zimbabwe Multi-Donor Trust Fund (‘the ZimFund’) from 2010 through June this year. The ZimFund has been an important source of financial support for the country’s energy, water and sanitation infrastructure.

The seven ZimFund financiers are the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.