During the annual general meeting of the African Development Bank (AfDB) held in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, African leaders expressed concern over the global financing architecture that is pushing several African countries into a debt trap amidst challenging socioeconomic conditions.

The leaders argued that international financial institutions have been unfair to the plight of poor African nations and emphasized the need for a review of the existing architecture.

Notably, Nigeria was noticeably absent from the forum despite its significant public debt of approximately N70 trillion and a debt-to-revenue ratio close to 100 percent.

While the Nigerian government was not represented, the discussion session witnessed the participation of three African presidents, numerous vice presidents, and delegates representing various governments.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the AfDB Group, highlighted the failure of the global financing architecture in addressing the emerging realities faced by Africa and developing countries in the midst of global challenges.

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He emphasized that African countries require $1.3 trillion annually to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and an additional $144 billion per year to recover from the devastating impacts of COVID-19.

Adesina further stressed the urgent need to reform the international financial architecture, particularly in the face of the debt crisis, COVID-19, climate change, and geopolitical crises such as the Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

He called for enhanced transparency on debt and improved global coordination among creditors to avoid disorderly and costly debt resolutions.

President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt added that African countries are grappling with global challenges, climate change, the pandemic, and geopolitical crises that they did not cause, necessitating collective efforts to mitigate their effects.

He urged multilateral institutions to revise the conditions of public financing for African countries to alleviate the burden on the continent.

While addressing the meeting, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, urged African countries to critically assess the progress made with decisions from past multilateral meetings on African development.

He called for realistic financing targets aligned with the AU’s 2063 agenda for self-sustainability, emphasizing the importance of transparency, the eradication of corruption, and stronger partnerships.